Russian navy ship spotted near Latvian waters

  • 2014-09-29
  • From wire reports, RIGA

(photo: AFP)

Latvia's national armed forces say they have spotted a Russian navy ship trawling near its waters today.

The Boikiy 532 was spotted 14 miles from Latvia's territorial waters on Monday.

Russian jets and warships have been detected 173 times near Latvia's border as of September 1. Latvia says the number of jets observed has increased amid the crisis in the Ukraine.

But the head of Latvia's armed forces Raimonds Graubolds told Latvian officials earlier this month there was no direct threat to Latvia's territory.

"All these processes cause concern. I have a question, why is such a demonstration of force needed? There must be some political reason behind it. There should not be fear of a direct threat, as we have to see the full picture about how the escalation will turn out. However, we know that any escalation can lead to unpredictable moves," Graubolds said.