Russia said this morning that it had shot down 347 Ukrainian drones over its territory since Wednesday night, an unusually high number, while the armed forces of Latvia, a NATO member state, announced this morning that two drones had entered its territory from Russian soil and crashed.
The Ukrainian drones were “intercepted and destroyed” between 21:00 and 07:00 Moscow and Cyprus time, according to a statement from the Russian Defence Ministry.
Ukraine had accused Russia on Wednesday of carrying out attacks on its territory despite a ceasefire proposed by Kyiv, which had promised to respond “symmetrically” to any violation.
The unmanned aerial vehicles that crashed in Latvia had probably been launched from Ukraine against targets in Russia, Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds told the national broadcaster LSM.
Military jets from NATO’s multinational Baltic air policing mission were scrambled to the area, he added.
Four empty oil tanks were damaged this morning at a storage facility in Rezekne, around 40km from the Russian border, while debris, possibly from a downed drone, was found at the site, police and firefighters said.
Latvian authorities issued warnings to residents in areas along the border with Russia at 04:09 local and Cyprus time, urging them to remain indoors.
All schools in Rezekne will be closed today, municipal authorities announced.
Ukrainian drones that had veered off course struck Latvia and neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania, also NATO members, in late March. One hit the chimney of a local power station, while another crashed and exploded on a frozen lake.
The Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles are believed to have been launched to strike military targets in Russia.
Source: ANA-MPA.
