RIGA, March 27 (LETA) - Defense Minister Andris Spruds (Progressives) acknowledged in an interview on the Latvian Television that a cell broadcast alert in had to be sent out to local residents in connection with the drone that crashed in Kraslava Municipality earlier this week.

Following last year’s drone incident in Gaigalava, detailed discussions were held with local governments to strike a balance-if there is no absolute certainty that it is a drone and it is currently "just a dot on the radar," authorities remain cautious. "For every dot, bird, or cloud visible on the radar-should we wake up residents in the middle of the night?" asked Spruds.

The minister explained that, as drone incursions into Russian territory continued, a set of alerts to be sent via text message had been prepared and handed over to the State Fire and Rescue Service in case another drone appeared heading toward Latvia. "Overall, we were ready to respond with such messages on the same day," the politician confirmed.

In the first instance, when there is no complete clarity regarding the objects visible on radar, a balance must be struck: "Do we want to wake residents every other night, or do we verify that there is a threat, after which we send the specific alert?"

Spruds emphasized that if similar incidents occur in the future, the cell broadcast alert system must be activated at the first signs of a potential threat.

As reported, several drones flew and exploded in all three Baltic states this week. They were most likely aimed by Ukrainian forces at targets in Russia but were deflected or diverted by electronic warfare jamming techniques.

Baltic officials have stressed that these incidents are a consequence of Russia's full-scale war of aggression, and that such incidents can happen again.

In the early hours of Monday morning, a drone crashed on frozen Lake Lavys in the Varena District of Lithuania, near the Belarusian border.

In Latvia, a drone flew in from Russia in the early hours of Wednesday and exploded in Kraslava Municipality, about one kilometer from the center of Svarini Parish, while another UAV briefly entered Latvia from Belarusian airspace and headed towards Russia.

A drone from Russian airspace flew into northeastern Estonia and hit the chimney of the Auvere power plant on Wednesday morning.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene confirmed that the crashed UAV was a Ukrainian drone, which had been destined for a target in Russia.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said that the aircraft that flew and exploded in Latvian airspace was also a Ukrainian drone, apparently part of a coordinated Ukrainian operation against Russian targets.

Overnight to Wednesday, Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Russian ports of Ust-Luga and Vyborg in the Leningrad Region. Earlier, Ukrainian drones hit the port of Primorsk in northwest Russia. These ports are located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea.