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RIGA, May 19 (LETA) - RIGA, May 19 (LETA) - A foreign drone was spotted in Latvia on Tuesday and is currently no longer in the country's airspace, Crisis Management Centre head Arvis Zile told reporters today.

Meanwhile, the National Armed Forces emphasized that a single drone from Russia may have entered Latvian airspace. This information is provided as a possibility, as NATO fighter jets scrambled into the air were unable to visually identify the object over Latvia.

"Accordingly, the flying object was not shot down because there was no visual identification," the Armed Forces states.

The Armed Forces currently have no information regarding the object’s location - namely, whether it has left Latvian airspace or has crashed within Latvian territory. The Armed Forces are currently reviewing data from air surveillance sensors to determine the possible flight path of the drone. The Armed Forces are also verifying whether this flying object can be considered a drone at all.

Zile reported that on Tuesday, upon receiving information about a threat to airspace, NATO aircraft were scrambled and patrolled along the eastern border of the airspace.

As the Armed Forces continued to monitor the potential object, it issued cell broadcast alerts deeper into Latvian territory, not just in the Latgale region. This was the largest number of regions to date whose residents were warned of a threat to airspace. "There was a suspicion that there might be a threat and that other regions, not just those along the border, could also be affected," Zile emphasized.

As reported, cell broadcast notifications about a possible threat in the airspace were sent out again on Tuesday shortly before noon in the eastern border area.

Initially, a threat was announced in the regions of Kraslava and Ludza. Later, a cell broadcast message was also sent to residents of Preili and Rezekne municipalities, as well as Rezekne city.

Shortly after 12.30 p.m., a warning of a possible danger was sent to Madona. At around 13.00, the warning was extended to the municipalities of Cesis, Smiltene and Gulbene. Later, Valmiera municipality also received the warning.

The sequence of events suggests that the drone flew from Latgale across Latvian territory until it reached the Valmiera municipality, where it either crashed or may have ended up in Estonia.

Also, it was reported that a fighter jet of the NATO-led Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone over Estonia on Tuesday, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said. The drone was shot down over Lake Vortsjarv in southern Estonia. A drone alert was issued in southern Estonia at midday and lifted at 12:45 p.m. so it ended sooner than in Latvia.

Zile currently has no information indicating that the drone shot down in Estonia is the same one that entered Latvian airspace. At this time, it is known that a single target was being tracked, but more detailed information will be available later.

Also, there are currently no indications that power outages in the eastern regions of Latvia on Tuesday were caused by third parties' interference, representatives of transmission system operator Augstsprieguma Tikls (AST) told LETA. "At the moment, there are no signs that the disruptions were caused by third parties," the company said. At 12:06 p.m. on Tuesday, a technological fault was detected in the transmission network, affecting electricity supply in Latgale. By 12.33 p.m., power supply was fully restored. The cause of the technological fault is being investigated.

Zīle also noted that an intense Russian information campaign against Latvia is currently underway, specifically involving the deliberate spread of falsehoods claiming that Latvia has allegedly allowed Ukraine to use its airspace and attack Russia from its territory. These lies can be seen as a continuation of the disinformation campaign that began back in March, the official noted.

"I think the Russian side is trying to divert attention from the fact that Ukraine is currently carrying out successful attacks on targets deep inside Russia," Zile emphasized.

Speaking about the technical issues with the 112.lv emergency website and app, Zile suggested that, given the number of municipalities involved in the operation, a correspondingly large number of people had attempted to access additional information, resulting in the disruptions.

The Crisis Management Center has sought to fill the information vacuum by disseminating information on news portals and social media. At the same time, experts and specialists will assess the reasons for the slow performance of 112.lv and work on solutions.

As reported, residents in Latvia's eastern region of Latgale have received similar cell broadcast notifications over the past few months, most likely related to drones approaching or entering Latvian airspace amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Such drones have also exploded on Latvian territory on several occasions, including on May 7 at an oil storage facility in Rezekne.

So far, no people have been injured in such incidents, but the latest drone crash in Rezekne led to the sacking of Defense Minister Andris Spruds (Progressives) and the resignation of Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity).