Latvia must urgently modernize its defense capabilities along the eastern border, particularly by developing anti-drone systems, Ainars Latkovskis of New Unity, chairman of the National Security Committee of the Latvian Saeima (NDK), told journalists on Thursday.
He stated that following the incident near the eastern border, detailed information about the course of events had been obtained from the responsible institutions, including the National Armed Forces of Latvia, the State Police of Latvia, and the State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia.
Latkovskis emphasized that Latvia has already begun procuring anti-drone systems and training personnel, but the full implementation of these capabilities will take time. At present, the systems available to the armed forces are mostly designed to counter low-flying objects rather than drones specifically.
The politician also stressed that Latvia must develop electromagnetic warfare capabilities, although the country is still at an early stage in this field. He admitted that much of the equipment currently available to the armed forces is not the most modern, and advanced systems have only recently started arriving in Latvia.
At the same time, Latkovskis emphasized that
the armed forces are doing everything possible with the available resources,
but faster decisions are needed regarding strengthening national defense.
He noted that shooting down drones is possible, but both technical and safety considerations complicate such operations, including restrictions on engaging targets over populated areas in order to avoid additional risks to civilians.
The investigation into the specific incident is continuing in cooperation with Ukrainian authorities, and several versions of the circumstances surrounding the event are being examined.
Latkovskis also admitted that communication with the public during the incident had not been sufficiently operative, and these aspects would be evaluated further.
Commenting on political responsibility, he stated that
faster decision-making is expected from the political leadership in the defense sector,
while also pointing to staff turnover in the sector, which may affect the decision-making process.
As previously reported by the LETA news agency, several drones entered Latvian airspace from Russia early Thursday morning, with at least one crashing in Rēzekne and damaging a fuel storage facility.
Authorities currently know of two crashed drones, while the second is still being searched for and may be located in Rēzekne Municipality.
Information available to LETA does not indicate that the Latvian military shot down either of the drones that crashed in Latgale.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Andris Sprūds of The Progressives said in an interview with Latvian Television that there is an initial possibility that the drones were launched from Ukraine toward Russia, although this still remains to be assessed.
Read also: “Life went on” — Latvian police surprised by public reaction during drone alert