Latvia and Lithuania warn of airspace threat near Belarus

Latvia and Lithuania have issued warnings about an airspace threat near the Belarus border, with NATO fighters scrambled and residents in Latvian regions told to take shelter.

What happened

People in two of Latvia’s regions along the borders of Russia and Belarus were told to take shelter because of an airspace threat, the Latvian army said on Tuesday. Interceptor drone and air defence units were activated, the army said in a statement posted on social media X.

NATO fighters on the Baltic air defence mission have been scrambled in response to an object in Belarus flying towards the Baltics, Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre said in a separate statement.

Source 3 specifies that people in Latvia’s Ludza region along the Belarus border were told to take shelter.

Background

Ukrainian military drones have been straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, creating concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over into NATO countries that border Russia and its ally Belarus.

As Ukraine attacks Russian Baltic Sea oil shipping ports, some of its drones have missed their targets and led to security warnings in neighbouring countries. In the case of Latvia, it led to a government collapse earlier this year.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of using NATO airspace as cover for attacks, while Kyiv says some of its drones have been steered off course by Russian signal jamming. The NATO countries blame Russia for the incidents, saying it ignited the war.

Why it matters

The incident shows how the war in Ukraine is creating security alerts in NATO countries bordering Russia and Belarus. Drone incursions have already prompted shelter warnings and, in Latvia’s case, contributed to a government collapse earlier this year.

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Sources

• hindustantimes.com: Latvia and Lithuania issue airspace threat warning near Belarus border | World News
• internazionale.it: Latvia, Lithuania warn of threat in airspace near Belarus - Internazionale
• en.apa.az: Latvia, Lithuania warn of threat in airspace near Belarus
• devdiscourse.com: Latvia, Lithuania warn of threat in airspace near Belarus
• theprint.in: Latvia, Lithuania warn of threat in airspace near Belarus – ThePrint – ReutersFeed

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.