French NATO Jets Shoot Down Drone Over Eastern Latvia

French Rafale fighter jets operating under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a foreign drone over eastern Latvia on June 8, 2026. The aircraft, launched from Šiauliai airbase in Lithuania, destroyed the drone over an uninhabited area near the village of Bērzgale, approximately 30km from the Russian border. This incident marks the first time NATO forces have shot down a drone within Latvian airspace. The incursion triggered air raid alerts in the municipalities of Rēzekne, Ludza, Balvi, and Alūksne, prompting residents to seek shelter.

Baiba Braže and other Latvian officials attributed the incursion to Russian electronic warfare, suggesting it may have diverted a drone—potentially of Ukrainian origin—into Latvian airspace. While the Kremlin and other sources suggested the drone was Ukrainian, Latvian military leadership maintained that Russian electromagnetic interference caused the breach. No injuries or property damage were reported.

Simultaneously, a drone entered eastern Moldova near the Mihailovca–Lopatna border zone and exploded in an agricultural field. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry assessed the drone as Ukrainian in origin but stated that Russia bears ultimate responsibility due to its invasion of Ukraine. These events occurred alongside a large-scale Russian aerial attack on Ukraine, involving 155 drones. Regional tensions remain high, as similar incursions in Estonia, Lithuania, and Romania have previously contributed to political instability in Latvia, including the resignation of former Prime Minister Evika Siliņa in May 2026.