• Day 1: Oil depot hit, politics ignited
• Days 2–3: Sirens and scramble orders
• Day 4–5: Third incursion, NATO on standby
• Competing narratives: jamming vs. provocation

Latvia Reports Third Drone Incursion in 72 Hours Latvia has gone from quiet NATO frontier to front-page flashpoint in a matter of days, as a string of rogue drones has turned Baltic airspace into a live-fire stress test for Europe’s security.

§Day 1: Oil depot hit, politics ignited

On May 7, a Ukrainian drone crashed into an oil storage facility in the eastern city of Rezekne, sparking a fire in empty tanks and a national political crisis. The episode, widely believed in Riga to have been caused by Russian electronic interference, shattered any illusion that the Ukraine war could be neatly contained at NATO’s edge.

Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Siliņa later admitted the handling of the incident destroyed public confidence, calling the Latgale drone strike “the last straw” in her relationship with Defence Minister Andris Spruds and in public trust, before announcing her resignation and sacking the agriculture minister to erase “even a shadow of doubt” inside the cabinet.

§Days 2–3: Sirens and scramble orders

By May 20, the crisis had gone regional. Lithuania declared its first-ever nationwide air alert after a suspicious drone entered from Belarus. In Estonia, a NATO jet shot down a Ukrainian drone that had strayed into its airspace, again amid suspicions of Russian jamming.

In Latvia, the army began issuing daily drone alerts. “Incidents just keep piling up,” reported one outlet, as the military warned of drones over the country’s southeast for the third consecutive day.

§Day 4–5: Third incursion, NATO on standby

This week, an unidentified drone again breached Latvian airspace, the third intrusion in 72 hours. Authorities sounded air-raid sirens in several regions and scrambled NATO fighters tasked with Baltic air policing. Residents were ordered indoors and told to follow the “two walls rule” to shield against potential blasts, while Latvia reinforced air defenses along its long borders with Russia and Belarus.

§Competing narratives: jamming vs. provocation

Kyiv insists these are not navigational blunders. Ukrainian officials say Ukrainian drones over Baltic skies are the product of Russian electronic warfare deliberately diverting them off targets inside Russia. Moscow counters with its own accusation: that Ukraine is preparing to launch military drones from Latvian and other Baltic territory, warning NATO membership “won’t protect” them from retaliation.

Local media, sensing the stakes, frame it bluntly: “Alert in the Baltics, war knocks on the door!” For now, the war is still across the border — but its drones are not.