STORY: :: Rezekne, Latvia / May 7, 2026
:: Two drones crash in Latvia, damaging an oil storage facility
:: Latvia said the drones were probably launched by Ukraine against targets in Russia
The drones were probably launched by Ukraine against targets in Russia, Latvia's Defense Minister Andris Spruds told national broadcaster LSM.
Military jets of the multinational NATO Baltic air police mission have been summoned to the site, he added.
Four empty oil tanks were damaged on Thursday morning at a storage facility in Rezekne, about 40 km (25 miles) from the Russian border, and possible debris of a crashed drone was found at the site, police and firefighters said.
The firefighters extinguished a smouldering area of around 30 square meters in one of the tanks.
Latvian authorities had issued drone alerts to residents along the Russian border at 4:09 a.m. local time (0109 GMT) on Thursday, asking them to stay indoors.
All schools will be closed in Rezekne on Thursday, the municipality said.
Several stray Ukrainian drones hit Latvia and its NATO neighbors Estonia and Lithuania in late March. One slammed into a chimney at a local power station while another crash-landed in a frozen lake and exploded.
The Ukrainian drones were believed to have been launched to strike military targets in Russia.
