RIGA, June 8 (LETA) - A drone that flew into Latvian territory this morning was shot down in Berzgale parish, Rezekne municipality, Deputy Chief of the National Armed Forces (NBS) Joint Staff, Brigadier General Kaspars Zdanovskis, said at a press conference on Monday.

He informed that on Monday morning NBS received information from sensors about a possible drone heading towards Latvia, which is why at 9.20 a yellow alert was issued for a possible air threat in the Ludza, Balvi and Aluksne municipalities. The NBS observed that the drone continued to move into Latvian territory, so NATO fighters were activated at 9.20.

At 9.40, an orange alert was activated in Ludza and Rezekne municipalities and sensors indicated that a drone had flown into Latvia as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare. At 10.05, after visual confirmation, NATO aircraft destroyed the drone.

Defense Minister Raivis Melnis said that it was not possible to say at this stage the country of origin and type of the drone.

The drone was shot down in an area that was not densely populated, and it is currently concluded that no damage was caused to civilian infrastructure and population. The final decision on the downing of the drone was taken by NATO Command.

Currently, NATO units are present in the area and are searching the terrain in order to establish the origin of the drone and to fully verify that no damage has been caused to the infrastructure. The State Police is also involved in the search.

Melnis did not comment at this time on the type of weapon used to shoot down the drone. The cost of the shot should be asked to the allies, but, he said, "you cannot count in money how much a shot costs when it comes to our security". At the same time, the minister stressed the need to build capabilities that are both effective and inexpensive in order to deal successfully with such drone incidents.

Asked what was different in this case from other occasions, Zdanovskis replied that the NBS had developed sensors and information gathering, which consequently contributed to the identification of the drone. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that such situations may recur in the future.

The defense minister did not have precise information on whether the drone incident had any impact on the power supply disruption in Rezekne that was detected on Monday.

As reported, allied fighter jets shot down a drone entering Latvian airspace on Monday morning, the National Armed Forces (NBS) said.

French fighter jets participating in NATO's Baltic air policing mission shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered Latvian airspace as a result of Russian electronic warfare.

The drone was shot down for the first time since drones from abroad have been detected in Latvian airspace.