The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has warned that Latvia’s NATO membership will not shield it from Russian retaliation as Ukraine intensifies its drone operations against Russian territory by utilizing Baltic state airspace.
Ukrainian military drones have targeted northwestern Russia on numerous occasions in recent weeks, particularly energy facilities in the Leningrad Region. However, some of these unmanned aerial vehicles have crashed in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland.
In a statement released Tuesday, the SVR reported that Ukraine “does not intend to limit itself to using the air corridors provided to the Ukrainians armed by the Baltic states.” The agency stated that the plan is to launch UAVs from the territory of these countries “to significantly reduce the time it takes to reach the targets and increase the effectiveness of the terrorist attacks.”
Additionally, Ukrainian drone operators have been deployed at military bases in Latvia, including Adazi, Selija, Lielvarde, Daugavpils, and Jekabpils.
