NATO fighter jets activated after drone intrusion into Latvian territory

NATO fighter jets have been scrambled over Europe after mystery drones entered Latvian airspace and struck an oil depot.

Alliance warplanes were scrambled as the unidentified unmanned aircraft flew around 40 miles into the country, with one crashing at an oil depot in Rēzekne - a city in the east of the country. Four empty oil tanks were said to be damaged in the incident.

The authorities were urgently seeking to investigate whether the drone flights were a hostile act by Russia - or Ukrainian UAVs which flew off course after electronic warfare interference while attacking targets in Vladimir Putin’s territory.

Residents in the Latgale region - the easternmost part of Latvia directly bordering Russia - received airspace threat warnings and mobile phone alerts at 4:09am and 4:43am.

They were also urged to remain indoors and close their doors and windows, while schools in the Rēzekne and Ludza districts were forced to close.

Defence Minister Andris Sprūds confirmed he was driving to Rēzekne to handle the emergency. "The situation there is genuinely complex and the threat continues," he said.

He stressed NATO fighters had been scrambled as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission. Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continues to have wider regional consequences and Baltic Air Policing functions need to be expanded, he said.

The incident comes amid concerns Russia is seeking to test NATO’s resolve through staged provocations in Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Russia has falsely alleged the Baltic states are allowing Ukraine to send drones over their airspace to attack oil ports near Putin’s second city St Petersburg - claims denied by the three countries, plus Finland.

This week, specialist Russian-language war channel Volya - which includes experts from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltics - warned of plans by Russia to invade the Baltic states in a major military challenge to the West.

Such a thrust by Vladimir Putin would test NATO’s resolve to defend three small member states.

"Since mid March, we have begun receiving confirmations from sources in the Russian Ministry of Defence and other structures that Vladimir Putin’s plans to invade the Baltic states have moved to the next stage," Volya said.

The aim "is not to start a war with NATO, but to trigger a major crisis within the alliance by invading Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania and, ideally, bring about its effective fragmentation".

"The Russian political leadership believes that European countries will be reluctant to fight a nuclear power, especially without direct support from the United States," it added.

"Vladimir Putin and his circle believe that major European countries would not risk going to war with Russia over the Baltic states".