Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa of New Unity (JV) is dissatisfied that the cell broadcast warning regarding today’s drone incident at a fuel storage facility in Rēzekne was sent only after the incident had already occurred.
Siliņa acknowledged this to journalists following a Crisis Management Council meeting that she convened in connection with the drone incidents in the Latgale region.
The prime minister stressed that such incidents are consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine and that Latvia must be prepared for similar events to happen again.
According to her, the emergency cell broadcast system functioned today, but she is dissatisfied that it was activated only after the incident at the fuel storage base in Rēzekne had already taken place. An explanation for this will be requested from Defence Minister Andris Sprūds of The Progressives.
Speaking at a press conference in Rēzekne, the minister admitted that concerns about whether the warning had been delayed were justified.
Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate what worked and what did not.
“I will also conduct such an assessment and order a review within the armed forces to evaluate what functioned properly and what did not,” Sprūds promised.
At the same time, he noted that the cell broadcast system is activated only after a “certain body of information” has been collected. According to him, “there is a lot of information every night,” but the system cannot realistically be activated “every minute.” He again stressed that the incident will be evaluated and algorithms improved if necessary.
Economics Minister Viktors Valainis of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) reportedly assured the Crisis Management Council that the incident would not affect the security of Latvia’s state oil reserves, the prime minister said.
Siliņa stated that situations like this help strengthen society’s resilience overall.
She believes municipalities responded appropriately and quickly, making the right decisions. Additional national-level guidelines may be developed to give municipalities greater flexibility in handling such incidents.
The politician also stressed the importance of residents following official information sources rather than social media posts, which are often false.
She noted that false information had recently circulated online claiming that Latvia had opened its airspace so Ukraine could launch attacks on Russia from Latvian territory.
“Russia will do everything possible to subject Latvian residents to the effects of information warfare as well,”
Siliņa added.
She also urged residents to take official announcements very seriously and comply with them.
According to the prime minister, Ukraine is also prepared to share its expertise regarding such incidents. “That kind of expertise would be useful for us at the border,” Siliņa said.
Arvis Zīle, head of Latvia’s Crisis Management Centre of Latvia (KVC), told journalists that every incident serves as a lesson, and procedures and response algorithms are reviewed afterward to make improvements.
“In this case as well, we have identified possible shortcomings and areas where improvements are needed, and we will continue working on that. This is specifically about information exchange — ensuring that information reaches the public and responsible officials faster, so that decisions can be made more promptly in overcoming such incidents,” Zīle emphasized.
As previously reported by the LETA news agency,
several drones entered Latvian airspace from Russia early Thursday morning,
with at least one crashing in Rēzekne and damaging a fuel storage facility.
Authorities currently know of two crashed drones, though the second one is still being searched for and may be located in Rēzekne Municipality.
Information available to LETA does not indicate that the Latvian military shot down either of the drones that crashed in Latgale.
At the request of the National Armed Forces of Latvia (NBS), the State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia (VUGD) sent emergency cell broadcast alerts at 4:09 a.m. in Ludza Municipality and Balvi Municipality, and at 4:43 a.m. in Rēzekne Municipality. Around 8:30 a.m., the armed forces announced that the threat had ended.
The NBS reminded the public that as long as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine continues, similar incidents involving foreign drones entering or approaching Latvian airspace remain possible.
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