French fighter jets deployed on NATO air policing duty from Šiauliai air base shot down a drone over Latvia on Monday.
At 9:18 a.m., the Latvian military announced a potential threat in the airspace over the municipalities of Rēzekne, Ludza, Balvi and Alūksne in the country's east, near the Russian border. Emergency text messages were sent to residents' mobile phones.
An hour later, the Latvian military reported on the social network X that the drone had been shot down.
NATO air-policing jets, which maintain a permanent presence over the Baltic states to protect their airspace, were scrambled in response, according to Latvian public broadcaster LSM.lv. At around 09:40 local time, the alert in Rēzekne and Ludza was elevated to orange, indicating an elevated threat.
Latvia's two-tier air alert system
Yellow – an informational warning advising residents to monitor developments; no immediate action required.
Orange – a confirmed airspace threat; residents are instructed to take cover immediately.
The Latvian Armed Forces urged residents to seek shelter indoors, following the two-wall principle: moving to a room with at least two solid walls between themselves and the outside of the building, to reduce the risk of injury from a potential blast or debris.
People were also advised not to approach any suspicious low-flying objects and to call the emergency number 112 if they spotted one.
The Latvian armed forces have previously warned that such incursions are likely to recur for as long as the war in Ukraine continues, as stray or deliberate drone activity has increasingly spilled beyond Ukrainian and Russian territory.
Updated: added information about the origin of NATO jets.
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