Latvia's National Armed Forces issued an airspace alert over three eastern municipalities on 21 May 2026 after a drone was detected near the country's border, calling on residents to seek shelter indoors and follow the two-wall principle, the military said.
It was the third alert in three days. Two days earlier, on 19 May, a Romanian F-16 flying for NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission had shot down a Ukrainian drone over Lake Võrtsjärv in Estonia — the first NATO drone shootdown in Baltic airspace. The 21 May alert also came one day after Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Ukraine of stationing drone operators at Latvian military bases and preparing to strike Russia from Latvian soil — a claim the foreign ministries of both Ukraine and Latvia rejected as disinformation.
Alert in three border municipalities
At 10:46 local time on 21 May the National Armed Forces said a possible threat had been identified over the Ludza, Krāslava, and Rēzekne municipalities on Latvia's eastern border. The military said it monitored the airspace continuously with NATO allies to be able to respond immediately to potential threats.
The army said it had strengthened air defense capabilities on the country's eastern border by deploying additional units to the area where the drone was detected.
"As long as Russia's aggression in Ukraine continues, recurrences of such incidents—where a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle enters or approaches Latvia's airspace—are possible," the National Armed Forces said.
Residents in the affected municipalities were told not to leave their homes while the threat lasted, to close windows and doors, and to follow the two-wall principle. Anyone who noticed a low-flying, suspicious, or dangerous object was asked not to approach it and to call 112. The army said it would notify the public when the threat had ended.
The episode fits a pattern that has tightened sharply this month. Earlier in May, a Ukrainian drone crashed near the Rēzekne oil depot in eastern Latvia, and the handling of that incident collapsed the Latvian ruling coalition on 14 May, after Prime Minister Evika Siliņa demanded Defence Minister Andris Sprūds' resignation. Baltic defense ministries have said publicly that the drones drifting into NATO airspace are Ukrainian, knocked off course by Russian electronic-warfare jamming on the other side of the border.
Russian intelligence claim rejected by Kyiv and Riga
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service said on 20 May that "fighters of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces are already at Latvian military bases" and that Ukraine was preparing to attack Russia from Latvian territory. The foreign ministries of both Ukraine and Latvia denied the allegation the same day.
Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said the claim was a "continuation of [Russia's] broader propaganda campaign aimed at destabilizing public opinion in Latvia and the Baltic region as a whole."
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said her country had not given Ukraine permission to attack Russia from its territory and added that this had been "repeatedly explained to Russian representatives."
"Russia lies again! This time, it is SVR or the External Intelligence Service running a disinformation campaign against Latvia. Fact: Latvia does not provide airspace for attacks on Russia. That has been explained several times to Russian representatives," she wrote.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs also dismissed the claim, saying Russia was lying about Latvia allowing any country to use its airspace and territory for attacks.
