Two Drones from Russia Crash in Latvia, Damage Oil Storage Facility

Two drones entered NATO member Latvia from Russian territory and crashed, the Latvian army said on Thursday morning. The drones were probably launched by Ukraine against targets in Russia, Latvia’s Defense Minister Andris Spruds told national broadcaster LSM. Military jets of the multinational NATO Baltic air police mission have been summoned to the site, he added. Four ⁠empty oil tanks ⁠were damaged on Thursday morning at a storage facility in Rezekne, about 40 km (25 miles) from the Russian border, and possible debris of a crashed drone was found at the site, police and firefighters said. The firefighters extinguished ⁠a smoldering area of around 30 square meters in one of the tanks, Reuters reported. Latvian authorities had issued drone alerts to residents along the Russian border at 4:09 a.m. local time (0109 GMT) on Thursday, asking them to stay indoors. All schools will be closed in Rezekne on Thursday, the municipality said. Several stray Ukrainian drones hit Latvia and its NATO neighbors Estonia and Lithuania in ⁠late ⁠March. One slammed into a chimney at a local power station while another crash-landed in a frozen lake and exploded. The Ukrainian drones were believed to have been launched to strike military targets in Russia. The three Baltic countries have never allowed their territories and airspace to be used for drone attacks against targets in Russia, their foreign ministers said in April.