Latvia Confirms Crashed Russian Drone Was A Shahed

Latvian authorities investigating the crash of a Russian military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) near a town close to the countries' shared border have confirmed it was an armed "Shahed" drone.

According to official press statements, the UAV fell to the ground on Saturday in the Gaigalava parish near the town of Rēzekne. The site lies roughly 120 miles east of the nation's capital, Riga, and less than 30 miles west of the Russian border.

However, as per Sunday's statement released by the website of Latvia's National Armed Forces (NAF), the drone actually flew into Latvian airspace from Belarus, whose border lies just over 50 miles south of the crash site at its closest point.

The NAF statement read: "Currently, the authorities, including the State Police, are investigating the circumstances of the incident, but preliminary data indicate that it is a military UAV of the Russian Federation."

It said that in accordance with standard procedures it had informed the NATO chain of command and neighbouring NATO allies,  as well as local government officials. It said an NAF monitoring site had detected the drone as soon as it entered Latvian airspace, monitored its movement, and located the crash site.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Yesterday (Monday) a statement released by the Latvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it believed the drone had lost control, "presumably as a result of Ukrainian counteraction."

It said it was had entered into discussions with NATO allies who had experienced similar incidents to see what steps could be taken to safeguard its citizens from similar accidents in the future. The NAF has deactivated the UAV and collected its debris for in-depth analysis; happily, there were no casualties or damage caused by the crash.

Andris Sprūds, Latvia's Defence Minister, commented on Sunday: “This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia's eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs.”

He added yesterday: "The arrival of a Russian drone of a “Shahed” type in Latvia is a serious incident that clearly shows that the Ukrainian war is on the horizon. This is a reality that we have to face — we have to be in constant readiness. When “Shahed” drones strike Ukraine, they tend to fly into Belorussian territory."

• You can read more details on the Latvian NAF website and the Latvian MoD website