French Jets Shoot Down Russian Drone Over Latvia After Russian Electronic Warfare

French fighter jets shot down a drone that entered NATO ally Latvia’s airspace from Russia on Monday, as Russia wages war on Ukraine and concern about the conflict’s spread grows.

“NATO fighters have scrambled to shoot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace from Russia”

Al Jazeera

Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis told reporters that NATO command ordered the shoot-down after it was determined that Russia had used electromagnetic warfare in the area.

Al Jazeera

The drone was brought down Monday morning near the village of Berzgale, roughly 20 miles from the border, and no property damage or injuries were reported.

The Latvian military said the unmanned aerial vehicle crossed into its territory "as a result of Russian electronic warfare" and did not specify its origin.

Lithuanian military spokesperson Gintautas Ciunis said two French jets deployed at the Siauliai airbase in northern Lithuania were scrambled and neutralised the drone at around 10:00 local time.

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze praised the operation, writing on social media platform X: "Thank you, our French Allies, for taking down the drone that flew into Latvian airspace!"

The Latvian military confirmed the drone had entered Latvian airspace "as a result of Russian electronic warfare," but did not specify the origin of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

CBS News

In a separate incident, Moldova reported on Monday that a drone crashed and exploded on agricultural land near the eastern village of Lopatna after entering its airspace overnight, and authorities said no injuries were reported.

Moldova’s foreign ministry said in a post on Telegram, according to the AFP news agency, "Regardless of the drone's origin, responsibility for any drone that lands on the territory of the Republic of Moldova lies with Russia."

The Nordic-Baltic countries said in a joint statement that "Incidents involving drones entering NATO airspace are a direct consequence of Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," while stressing they had "never allowed their territory or airspace to be used for these attacks against targets in Russia."

The drone shoot-down in Latvia followed a pattern of incidents in the Baltic states, where since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, both Russian and Ukrainian drones have crashed in the region.

“In a significant diplomatic gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan following the latter's Civil Contract Party's successful performance in the recent parliamentary elections”

Devdiscourse

RFI reported that on 19 May, a Romanian jet stationed in Lithuania shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia after it strayed off course, and a day later Lithuania issued its first public air alert when another drone approached Vilnius.

In the same reporting, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said the country needs to strengthen its anti-drone and jamming systems and added, "We must begin producing drones capable of intercepting and shooting down other drones," in an interview over the weekend.

The Washington Post said the drone was the latest to violate the airspace of a NATO member during the war, underscoring the eastern border security incident while Russia wages war on Ukraine.

RFI also said that on Monday, a Ukrainian drone strike on a passenger train killed one of its drivers and wounded the other, Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of the Crimea region wrote on Telegram, and that the attack came hours after Russia fired waves of drones including one that damaged a nuclear storage facility near the Chernobyl disaster site.