Ukrainian Drone Crashes and Explodes in Latvia, President Says

A Ukrainian drone entered Latvian airspace from Russia on the night of March 25, then crashed and exploded, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said.

He told Delfi that detailed information about the incident was received promptly.

“Even a bit earlier than we would expect in a normal working rhythm — around four in the morning,” the President said.

According to Rinkēvičs, information available to Latvian authorities confirms that the drone that violated the country’s airspace was Ukrainian.

“The drone was part of an operation coordinated by Ukraine against targets on the territory of Russia,” he said.

On Wednesday morning, Latvia’s Defense Ministry reported that a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle had entered the country’s airspace from Russia.

Later, the drone crashed and exploded in the Kraslava municipality. Military and law enforcement personnel arrived at the scene, and debris was found near the explosion site.

According to the Latvian military, the drone was flying at an altitude of less than one kilometer and therefore below the coverage of the main radar systems.

At about 02:19 am, sensors detected an object approaching Latvian airspace from the Russian side. It disappeared from radar roughly 20 minutes later. Air defense units were placed on alert. The drone later exploded near the village of Dobrovychyna at around 02:35 am.

On the night of March 25, Ukrainian forces carried out drone strikes on key Russian facilities in the Leningrad region.

The drones reportedly struck one of Gazprom Ust-Luga, Europe’s largest gas processing plants. In addition, following the drone attack on Vyborg, an Arktika patrol ship under construction for Russia’s FSB Coast Guard listed and collided with another vessel.