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Nato jets shoot down foreign drone after it enters Latvian airspace

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A drone entered Latvian airspace and was shot down by Italian Eurofighter jets, the military said on Friday.

An air alert was lifted after the drone was intercepted, Latvia’s military said on social media, after authorities had urged people across the Baltic state to avoid going outside and seek shelter.

The military did not initially identify the drone’s origin, but said a foreign drone had entered Latvian airspace as a result of Russia’s electronic warfare activity over the Balvi region. This suggested it could have been a Ukrainian drone diverted off course by Russian electronic interference.

Nato responded to the airspace incursion with Italian Eurofighter jets based in Lithuania and Turkish F-16 jets based in Estonia, Nato spokeswoman Allison Hart said on social media.
Servicemen of the Latvian National Guard walk on a field as they search for the debris from an intercepted drone in Rugaji, Latvia, on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Servicemen of the Latvian National Guard walk on a field as they search for the debris from an intercepted drone in Rugaji, Latvia, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Kyiv had attacked targets in northwestern Russia overnight, according to Latvian media. Nato fighter jets had already shot down a stray drone over Latvia in early June.