Latvia strengthens air defence system at Russian border

Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds has said that Latvia deployed additional air defence forces to Latgale, a region bordering Russia.

“The mobile units of the country's air force equipped with air defence systems have been relocated to the area,” Sprūds said, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

“Moreover, radar stations have been established near the Latvian-Russian border to detect drones. Reserve soldiers are also contributing to the bolstering of the air defence system,” he added. 

The Latvian Defence Ministry made this decision following the incident involving a drone that, according to Latvian authorities, crashed near the city of Rēzekne in Latgale on September 7.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs announced the incident, labeling the drone as Russian but did not provide any details or evidence to support this claim. In response, acting chargé d'affaires of Russia in Latvia Dmitry Kasatkin was summoned to the Latvian Foreign Ministry.

By Naila Huseynova