Russian drones breached Romanian and Latvian airspace which then crashed forcing fighter jets to be scrambled.
Latvia borders Russia and Belarus and the Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said that drones entering NATO airspace “is increasing.”
He said, “The number of such incidents is increasing along the eastern flank of NATO and we must address them collectively.”
The Romanian Defence Ministry said their “radar supervision system identified and tracked the path of a drone which entered national airspace and then exited towards Ukraine.”
“From existing data, the possibility of an impact zone on national territory was identified, in an uninhabited area near the village of Periprava,” the Ministry added.
Read more related news:
Kyiv’s lack of long-range capabilities led to the ‘successful operation’ of invading Kursk region
Russia launches another deadly attack close to the Polish border using ‘hypersonic missiles’
Moscow threatens ICC’s ‘lives’ over arrest warrant for Putin as he visits Mongolia
LETS news agency said the drone that entered Latvia flew from Belarus airspace and crashed close to the city of Rezekne according to initial investigations.
The commander of Latvia’s joint headquarters, Leonids Kalnins said his experts said the Russian drone had no “specific purpose to fly into Latvia.”
Incursions into NATO’s airspace has prompted officials to call for the military to counter Russian drones and missiles entering the alliance’s territory.
Poland’s airspace has been breached several times and the Polish military could soon intercept objects over Ukrainian airspace.
The Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said neighbouring countries to Ukraine are “responsible for protecting their own airspace,” this is something that the NATO chief does not want to happen, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Over recent months Russian drones have violated Poland’s airspace and NATO allies have urged Warsaw to exercise restraint against Moscow.
Sikorski told the FT, “Membership in NATO does not trump each country’s responsibility for the protection of its own airspace – it’s our own constitutional duty.
Sikorski told the FT, “Membership in NATO does not trump each country’s responsibility for the protection of its own airspace – it’s our own constitutional duty.
I’m personally of the view that, when hostile missiles are on a course of entering our airspace, it would be legitimate self-defense (to strike them) because once they do cross into our airspace, the risk of debris injuring someone is significant.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has objected to Poland shooting down missiles and drones over Ukrainian territory over fears the alliance will become “part of the conflict” with Russia.
Sikorski has warned that Russian missiles and drones landing inside Polish territory risks lives, so “intercepting” them whilst they are high over Ukraine means it will be easier to shoot them down, he added, the “Ukrainians have told us: you’re welcome.”
Leave a Comment