Drone flew close to Latvian airspace Monday evening
On the evening of Monday, March 30, the Latvian military detected a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle near the Latvian-Russian border, in the vicinity of the Ludza and Balvi municipalities. A text alert was sent to residents in the affected areas.
The aircraft did not enter Latvian airspace. As it moved away from the Latvian border, a message was sent via the cell broadcast system indicating that the threat had ended.
Several residents of Balvi municipality confirmed that they received cell broadcast messages on their mobile phones regarding both the threat and its end.
Following the cell broadcast notifications, information and images showing flames allegedly in Balvi municipality spread across various communication platforms and individual social media channels. Residents speculated that this could have been related to a drone crash. The LETA news agency confirmed with the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) that a pile of branches was burning on Monday evening, and this was not likely connected to a drone crash.
As observed by the LETA news agency, the initial information urging residents of Balvu and Ludza counties to avoid approaching any low-flying, suspicious, or dangerous objects and instead call 112 was also available on the mobile app "112 Latvija" and on the website "112.lv," but the website was later temporarily down. Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said on social media that she would ask VUGD to explain the capacity of the website.
The Estonian Defence Forces also issued warnings early Tuesday morning about new aerial threats in the country’s northeastern and southern regions. Several drones had entered Estonian airspace, according to the Estonian public media. "It is highly likely that the drones involved here overnight were Ukrainian drones that went off course," said Colonel Uku Arold.
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