At their summit in the Turkish capital, Ankara, NATO leaders decided to turn the alliance’s rotating Baltic Air Policing mission into an air defence mission, ERR reported. The change will allow NATO fighter aircraft to respond more rapidly to threats in Baltic airspace. NATO’s air operations centre in Uedem, Germany, will have authority to decide…
Latvia will deploy more air defence systems to its eastern border, Defence Minister Raivis Melnis announced, LETA reported. Speaking during a meeting with local government leaders, Melnis said that the deployment would include drones, radars, and interception systems, LSM reported. He thanked Ukraine for providing necessary help. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said that new counter-drone…
The prime ministers of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries announced that the group would cooperate with Ukraine on military expertise and training, information sharing, and the development of their defence industries and technology, ERR reports. Joining the summit meeting in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was ready to supply…
French fighter jets within NATO’s Baltic air-policing mission shot down a drone in eastern Latvia in the morning of 8 June 2026, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) announced, LSM reports. NBS said that the drone entered Latvian airspace due to Russian “electromagnetic warfare,” TVNET reported. Eyewitness said that the incident occurred near the village…
Latvia’s security situation has not improved and has become more complex, President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview on TV24, Rinkevics warned that Russia was becoming more unpredictable and that Latvia must be prepared to respond to various kinds of Russian provocations. At the same time, he noted that the threat posed…
Renewed calls for engagement with Russia do not reflect Europe’s security needs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking at the opening of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s spring session in the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, Nauseda insisted that Russia has to be “contained, not courted.” He reminded that the future of European security was…
Recent drone incidents in the Baltic States are part of Russia’s strategy to destabilise democratic societies in the region, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with Baltic presidents in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, von der Leyen stressed the need for EU unity in support of the three…
An unidentified drone crashed into a lake in eastern Latvia on 23 May 2026, LSM reported. A local resident saw the drone fall into Lake Dridzis in the Kraslava municipality and explode on impact. No injuries or damage was reported. Authorities are examining the wreckage. The Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) said that their sensors…
The Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) has introduced a new two-tier system for mobile alerts informing the public of potential security threats, LSM reports. Alerts are now either yellow or orange, depending on the assessed seriousness of the threat. Yellow alerts will warn of possible threats in Latvian airspace requiring no immediate action from residents,…
