Six days after noise, Latvia finds drone debris in Alūksne
The wreckage was located after an initial two-day search ended without results.
By Fatima Davis ·
The National Armed Forces of Latvia confirmed on Saturday that they recovered drone wreckage in the Alūksne district. The discovery ended a week of uncertainty following the incident.
Military officials stated the unmanned aerial vehicle most likely entered Latvian airspace on October 18. The event first registered as a loud noise resembling an explosion. This triggered a joint search operation by the National Armed Forces and the State Police.
Investigators paused the search after two days. They cited insufficient data to determine the nature of the event. The debris was located only after that gap in the investigation.
An official investigation is now examining the circumstances of the crash. A separate internal review is assessing how the incident unfolded. The military confirmed that no civilians were injured. Civilian infrastructure sustained no damage, and officials report no further threats to the area.
The finding follows a similar event in neighboring Lithuania. On October 18, debris from a suspected drone was found in Juodžionys, a village in the Pasvalys district. Lithuanian authorities stated the drone entered the country from Poland. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius announced that the aircraft contained explosives.
Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesman for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attributed the Lithuanian incident to Russian electronic warfare. He said Ukraine expressed regret over the occurrence.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
