NATO jets intercept drone breaching Latvian airspace - VIDEO

For the third consecutive day, Latvia issued nationwide air alerts and scrambled NATO fighter jets on May 21 after an unidentified drone breached its airspace, signaling an escalating security crisis on NATO's eastern flank.

Latvia’s National Armed Forces confirmed the incursion, immediately deploying Baltic air policing fighter jets to intercept the craft. Authorities urged residents in the affected regions to stay indoors and follow the "two-walls rule" to protect against potential blasts. In response to the persistent threat, Latvia has rapidly reinforced its eastern borders—which stretch 283 kilometers along Russia and 173 kilometers along Belarus—with additional air defense units, News.Az reports, citing Kyiv Independent.

The latest intrusion highlights a dangerous and growing trend across the Baltic states. Defense officials increasingly suspect that Russian electronic warfare is jamming Ukrainian drones and intentionally redirecting them toward NATO territory.

The region has been on high alert since May 7, when a Ukrainian drone—similarly diverted by Russian countermeasures—crashed into an oil facility in eastern Latvia. That incident triggered a massive political fallout, culminating in the resignation of Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina on May 14.

Latvia is not alone in facing these airborne threats. On May 18, a NATO jet shot down a jammed Ukrainian drone over neighboring Estonia. Just two days later, on May 20, Lithuania declared its first-ever nationwide-style air alert when a suspected drone crossed its border from Belarus.

As the airspace violations mount, Baltic security chiefs warn that the regional security situation is rapidly sharpening, putting NATO's frontline states on a permanent state of high readiness.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada