Latvia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Chargé d’Affaires Dmitry Kasatkin after Russian intelligence said Ukraine was planning to launch drones from Latvian territory.
The head of the Russian embassy expressed a “categorical protest” and was presented with an official note of protest.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the Russian side continues to “spread false information and make escalatory statements” despite Latvia’s repeated statements that it does not agree to use its territory and airspace to strike targets in Russia.
On May 19, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service published a statement in which it said that the leadership of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is preparing to launch new strikes on Russia and plans to launch drones from the territory of the Baltic states. The Foreign Intelligence Service claimed that the Kiev authorities “convinced Riga to approve the operation.” “As a result, the cavemen’s Russophobia of the current rulers of Latvia turned out to be stronger than the ability to think critically and a sense of self-preservation,” the intelligence statement said. “Russia is lying again,” Latvian Foreign Minister Paipa Brazi wrote.
Ukrainian drones have already flown to the Baltic states several times. The Ukrainian authorities apologized to these countries. A recent event in Latvia led to the resignation of first the country’s defense minister, and then the government led by the prime minister.