French NATO jets shot down drone over Rezekne region, eastern Latvia

On 8 June 2026, around 10:05 local time, a French Dassault Rafale flying NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission out of Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania shot down a drone that had entered Latvian airspace over the Rēzekne region in eastern Latvia, near the Russian border. According to Latvian public broadcaster LSM, it was the first time NATO aircraft had destroyed a drone over Latvian territory. Latvia's National Armed Forces (NBS) said the drone was brought down over an uninhabited area, with no injuries or property damage reported.

Before the intercept, the NBS raised the threat level and issued public air-threat alerts in several eastern municipalities, then lifted them once the airspace was cleared. The National Guard was deployed to search for debris. A military spokesperson told Reuters, in copy carried by Euronews, that the drone had entered from the Russian direction, and the NBS linked the incursion to Russian electronic warfare, that is GPS jamming.

Authorities did not officially identify who launched the drone or confirm whether it was of Russian or Ukrainian origin. Reporting on the exact crash location differed: Reuters wire copy placed the intercept over Nautrēni parish, roughly 15 km from the border, while LSM reported it near Bērzgale, about 30 km from the border. Both lie within the same eastern Rēzekne municipality. The same night, a separate drone from Ukraine's Odesa region exploded near Lopatna, Moldova, an event Moldovan authorities assessed as most likely Ukrainian.

The drone's operator and origin remain officially unconfirmed; the NBS attributed the incursion to Russian electronic warfare but did not name a launcher. The honest read, consistent with the 2026 Baltic drone-spillover pattern and the same-night Lopatna drone assessed by Moldova as likely Ukrainian, is a strayed (probably Ukrainian) drone diverted by jamming rather than a deliberate strike on Latvia, though some officials argue Moscow intentionally steers such drones toward NATO territory. It follows a NATO F-16 shootdown over Estonia three weeks earlier and is the first such intercept over Latvian soil. This entry may change as further public information emerges.