Drone that crashed in Latvia was Shahed drone carrying explosives

RIGA - The Russian drone that crashed in Gaigalava municipality of Rezekne district was a Shahed-type drone carrying explosives, the National Armed Forces (NBS) said at a press conference on Monday.

The drone has been deactivated and is being thoroughly inspected. After inspection, it will be established whether parts made in western countries had been used in construction of the drone.

According to the NBS, the information obtained so far indicates that the drone's presence in Latvia cannot be assessed as an open military escalation against Latvia and that the drone was not aimed at Latvia. Throughout the incident, the Latvian Defense Forces had been monitoring the situation in cooperation with NATO partners.

Defense Minister Andris Spruds (Progressives) announced at a press conference that Latvia is already strengthening air defense on the eastern border in response to the downing of a Russian drone in the Rezekne region.

Spruds said that the drone had been aimed at Ukraine, thus, it had been aimed at a democratic and independent society.

As reported, on Saturday a Russian military drone flew into Latvia from Belarus and later crashed in the Rezekne region.

The drone flew into Latvian airspace on Saturday and was immediately spotted, National Armed Forces (NBS) Commander Lieutenant General Leonids Kalnins told LETA on Sunday.

"We assessed and monitored the situation, how dangerous it was and whether there could be a threat to facilities and civilians," Kalnins said, adding that the decision was taken in accordance with the procedure adopted by the NBS and NATO member states.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.