A new drone strike has hit Lake Dridzis in Latvia, exploding on impact and killing fish but causing no injuries or structural damage. Latvian police recovered debris from the lake, including a mangled fiberglass fragment believed to be part of the UAV. The incident occurred approximately 17 kilometers from Latvia’s border with Belarus.
This event is the latest in a string of violations by Ukrainian forces against NATO member states. Multiple long-range kamikaze drones have repeatedly entered the airspace of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland, with some crashing on land.
The drone attacks contributed to the collapse of Latvia’s government after two Ukrainian UAVs struck an oil depot near Russia’s border. Prime Minister Evika Silina acknowledged the incident on Saturday, urging the public to follow only “official information” on the drone explosion. “I expect from the emergency services as detailed information as possible on the circumstances of the incident and further actions,” she stated.
Moscow has accused NATO countries of tacitly allowing Ukraine to use their airspace for strikes against Russian oil facilities in the Leningrad Region. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that Ukraine “does not intend to limit itself to using the air corridors provided to the Ukrainians armed by the Baltic states” but also seeks to directly “launch the UAVs from the territory of these countries.”
The SVR specifically singled out Latvia, alleging that Riga had agreed to the operation based on false claims from Kyiv that identifying drone launch sites would be impossible. In a warning, the agency stated: “Latvia’s NATO membership will not protect the accomplices of terrorists from just retribution.”
