Latvia Finds Drone Debris in Alūksne After Six-Day Gap

Latvia's National Armed Forces announced on Saturday, 24 October, that they located the wreckage of a drone in the Alūksne district. The military stated the unmanned aerial vehicle likely entered Latvian airspace on 18 October. The discovery concludes a search that had been suspended for six days.

The initial incident began with reports of a loud noise resembling an explosion. The National Armed Forces and the State Police began looking for a crash site immediately. They halted the search after two days because available information was insufficient to determine the cause. Authorities have now resumed the investigation into the event.

The military also launched an internal review to assess the factors surrounding the incident. Officials reported that no civilians were injured and no civilian infrastructure was damaged. They stated that no further threats have been identified.

This event follows a similar occurrence in neighboring Lithuania. On Sunday, 18 October, debris from a suspected drone was found in the village of Juodžionys in the Pasvalys district. Lithuanian authorities said the drone entered their airspace from Poland.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius confirmed that the drone contained explosives. Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attributed the Lithuanian incident to Russian electronic warfare measures. Ukraine expressed regret over the event.