SparkleHundredFella🦩✨🌻 (@sparklehundred.bsky.social)

Two Russian drones crash in Latvia, prompting airspace alerts and security concerns Latvia's National Armed Forces reported that two drones entered Latvian airspace from Russia overnight on Thursday, May 7th, before crashing within Latvian territory. Authorities issued an airspace threat alert in the Balvi, Ludza, and Rezekne regions. Residents of Rezekne, a city near the Russian border, reported hearing the sound of drones overhead even before receiving emergency notifications on their mobile phones. According to Guntars Skudra, head of the Rezekne municipal council, one of the drones crashed at the local branch of the oil company East-West Transit in Rezekne, striking an empty oil tank. Preliminary assessments at the site found that four oil storage tanks had been damaged by external impacts. The location where the second drone crashed has not yet been determined. Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said that, based on initial information, the drones were likely launched from Ukraine and targeted sites in Russia. He noted, however, that this remains an assumption, and stressed that Ukraine has every right to defend itself and strike targets inside Russia. Incidents involving drones-reportedly Ukrainian-have become increasingly frequent in the Baltic states in recent weeks. Following a series of such events in late March, Russian propagandists began circulating claims that Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had allegedly opened their airspace to Ukrainian drones to conduct strikes against Russia. Latvia's Ministry of Defense responded by stating the Kremlin had launched a large-scale, coordinated information campaign against the Baltic countries. https://www.uawire.org/two-russian-drones-crash-in-latvia-prompting-airspace-alerts-and-security-concerns