Latvia says Russian drone that crashed in eastern Latvia was carrying explosives

RIGA, 9 Sep. (DPA/EP) –

Latvia’s armed forces said Monday that a Russian-made unmanned aerial vehicle that crashed in the early hours of the morning in an area in the east of the country was equipped with a warhead loaded with explosive material.

The Iranian-made Shahed drone was deactivated after being located in the town of Rezekne, about 50 kilometres from the Russian border. Preliminary investigations suggest that it may have entered Latvian territory after flying over Belarus.

Defence Minister Andris Spruds said the drone was most likely intended to hit Ukrainian territory. The Latvian military leadership said it did not consider the incident to be a military escalation based on the information it had.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics on Sunday denounced the downing of a Russian military drone in the east of the country. “An investigation is underway. We are in close contact with our allies,” the president said on his social networks.

He then warned that this type of incident along NATO’s eastern flank “is increasing”, and therefore asked the Allies to address the situation “collectively”, together with the discovery of the remains of a drone also in Romania.