Russian Drones Invade Two NATO Countries’ Airspace

Latvia and Romania—both member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—reported over the weekend that Russian drones invaded their airspace.

According to Latvia’s Ministry of Defense, on Saturday a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed in the Rēzekne municipality in Latgale.

“Currently, the authorities, including the State Police, are investigating the circumstances of the incident, but preliminary data indicate that it is a military UAV of the Russian Federation,” Latvia’s Ministry of Defense said in a news release transcribed into English.

The drone is believed to have flown into Latvia’s airspace from Belarus, a Russian ally. The nature of the crash, such as if the North Eastern European country was the drone’s intended target, is unclear at this time.

Latvia has informed NATO countries in the region about the incident. The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

According to Article 5 of NATO, if one member state is the victim of an armed attacked, all other member states will come to their aid. Article 5 has only been invoked once in its 75 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there have been fears that the war could expand, possibly into Poland or the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), which are all members of NATO.

However, Putin has made it clear that he doesn’t plan on attacking these regions. In an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that aired in February, Putin said Moscow had no interest in invading “Poland, Latvia or anywhere else.”

Newsweek reached out to the Russian government via online form and Latvia’s Ministry of Defense via email for comment on Sunday morning.

“This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia’s eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs of different applications,” Andris Sprūds, Defense Minister of Latvia, said in the news release.

At this year’s NATO summit in Washington, D.C., which took place in July, NATO countries agreed to strengthen their air defense by patrolling over the Baltics on a rotational basis.

Latvia said in its news release that the country is “stepping up” security of its land borders, airspace and territorial waters, which includes reinforcing its air defense capabilities on the eastern border.

Meanwhile, Romania reported on Sunday that a Russian drone invaded its airspace while Moscow was carrying out strikes on “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube River in Ukraine.

F-16 fighter jets were sent into Romania’s airspace to monitor the situation and NATO allies were informed of the incident.

Romania’s Ministry of National Defense said preliminary data shows that there may be an “impact zone” in an uninhabited area near the village of Periprava and that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Newsweek reached out to Romania’s defense ministry via email for additional information on Sunday morning.

The Central-Southeastern European country has confirmed drone fragments in its territory on multiple occasions.

“NATO condemns the overnight Russian airspace violation into Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,” Mircea Geoana, NATO’s outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania’s former top diplomat, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.