MPs ask Silina to explain government's actions following drone incident in Latgale

RIGA - Members of the Saeima opposition United List have submitted a request to Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity), calling for an explanation of the government's responsibility and possible systemic failure to ensure timely warning of the population after the March 25 drone incident in Latgale.

The MPs point out that the population only learned about the presence of an armed drone on Latvian territory after the fact - from social networks, the media and the sound of an explosion, as neither sirens nor mobile warning systems, including cellular broadcasting, were activated. They stress that there is no practical evidence of a functioning public alert system.

The problem is not technical but political, the MPs say, with the failure of the responsible ministries to ensure coordinated action and effective crisis management. The MPs criticize the public statements of Defense Minister Andris Spruds (Progressives), on the so-called "drone wall", as the incident shows that it is not able to prevent the threat even in individual cases.

It is also pointed out that the public has not been given clear information on how to act in such cases, leaving the population in the dark about security measures. MPs stress that the political responsibility for government coordination and crisis management lies with the Prime Minister.

The request was referred to the submissions committee on Thursday.

As reported, Major General Kaspars Pudans, Commander of the National Armed Forces (NBS), said in an interview on Latvian Television this morning that due to the short notice, there was not enough time to inform local residents about the threat posed by the recent drone incidents.

He explained that in order to provide accurate information to residents who might be affected by a potential threat, a certain amount of time is needed to understand the possible direction and trajectory of the threat. In this case, the warning period was too short.

It was also reported that several drones flew and exploded in all three Baltic states this week. They were most likely aimed by Ukrainian forces at targets in Russia but were deflected or diverted by electronic warfare jamming techniques.

Baltic officials have stressed that these incidents are a consequence of Russia's full-scale war of aggression, and that such incidents can happen again.

In the early hours of Monday morning, a drone crashed on frozen Lake Lavys in the Varena District of Lithuania, near the Belarusian border.

In Latvia, a drone flew in from Russia in the early hours of Wednesday and exploded in Kraslava Municipality, about one kilometer from the center of Svarini Parish, while another UAV briefly entered Latvia from Belarusian airspace and headed towards Russia.

A drone from Russian airspace flew into northeastern Estonia and hit the chimney of the Auvere power plant on Wednesday morning.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene confirmed that the crashed UAV was a Ukrainian drone, which had been destined for a target in Russia.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said that the aircraft that flew and exploded in Latvian airspace was also a Ukrainian drone, apparently part of a coordinated Ukrainian operation against Russian targets.

Overnight, Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Russian ports of Ust-Luga and Vyborg in the Leningrad Region. Earlier, Ukrainian drones hit the port of Primorsk in northwest Russia. These ports are located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea.