Drone from Lithuania crosses five Latvian municipalities overnight, escorted by NATO jets

Several drones crossed or approached Latvia overnight into Wednesday, 11 November, and one of them flew over five municipalities escorted by fighter jets from NATO’s air policing mission, Seldzis Grasmanis, a naval captain with the National Armed Forces (NBS), told Latvian Radio.

Where the warnings were issued and why

The first warnings were issued late on Tuesday evening in Ludza, Augšdaugava and Krāslava municipalities and were lifted at around midnight. In Ludza, Grasmanis said, the cause was two targets that entered Latvian territory. The warning in Krāslava and Augšdaugava concerned a target approaching from Belarus that did not reach Latvia. Three targets approached Balvi municipality but turned north into Russia without crossing the border.

The longest chain of alerts began after 02:00. At about 02:20 a yellow warning in Aizkraukle municipality was raised to orange within minutes. The cause was a drone approaching from Lithuania. Escorted by the jets, it crossed Jēkabpils, Madona, Cēsis, Gulbene and Smiltene municipalities and left Latvian territory near Ape, flying into Estonia. Warnings were issued and lifted municipality by municipality, and at about 03:30 the armed forces declared the threat over in Smiltene and Gulbene too.

Lithuania had earlier reported drones in its airspace, including one that left in the direction of Latvia. Interceptor drone and air defence units were also activated in response.

What the yellow and orange warnings mean

An orange warning is the higher of the two levels: residents are asked to go indoors, follow the “two walls” rule and stay away from suspicious objects. A yellow warning signals a possible threat but does not require any action.

The armed forces said such incidents could happen again for as long as Russia’s war against Ukraine continues. Residents of Latgale and Vidzeme have received warnings several times this year; several drones have crashed or been shot down in Latvia, while some warnings were sent as a precaution.