{"id":200220,"date":"2026-08-17T13:39:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T13:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:39:04","slug":"nato-planes-shoot-down-drone-from-belarus-over-latvia","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO planes shoot down drone \u201cfrom Belarus\u201d over Latvia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>August 17, <\/strong><strong><em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>NATO patrol fighter jets last week downed a drone that entered Latvia\u2019s airspace from Belarus, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis said in an interview broadcast by the country\u2019s public television on August 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The drone was knocked off the course by Russia\u2019s electronic jamming, and was shot down in the Balvi district on August 14, he said, adding that experts are working to \u201cascertain\u201d its origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The minister noted that Latvia is short of anti-drone and radar systems at the border. The county plans to equip its border with Russia and Belarus before the end of September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baltic countries reported at least 24 drone incursions from January 2025 to May 2026, <em>Novaya Gazeta Europe<\/em> reported. Latvia reported 12 incidents, Lithuania seven and Estonia five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drones were of Russian and Ukrainian origin, but some UAVs were not identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Security<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Society<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Security, Society<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Border guards seize two drones, seven model aircraft from individuals since year&#039;s start<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">August 12, Pozirk. Belarusian border guards based in Hrodna have seized nine unmanned aerial vehicles, including seven \u201cclassified as model aircraft,\u201d from individuals since the start of 2026, the State Border Committee said. Flying device toys equipped with photo and &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/199793\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read <\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 17, Pozirk. NATO patrol fighter jets last week downed a drone that entered Latvia\u2019s airspace from Belarus, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis said in an interview broadcast by the country\u2019s public television on August 17. The drone was knocked off the course by Russia\u2019s electronic jamming, and was shot down in the Balvi district [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":197261,"template":"","rubric":[16,30],"class_list":["post-200220","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics","rubric-security"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>NATO planes shoot down drone \u201cfrom Belarus\u201d over Latvia | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"August 17, Pozirk. NATO patrol fighter jets last week downed a drone that entered Latvia\u2019s airspace from Belarus, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NATO planes shoot down drone \u201cfrom Belarus\u201d over Latvia | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 17, Pozirk. 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NATO patrol fighter jets last week downed a drone that entered Latvia\u2019s airspace from Belarus, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/riga-POZ.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/riga-POZ.jpg\",\"width\":864,\"height\":576},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NATO planes shoot down drone \u201cfrom Belarus\u201d over Latvia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NATO planes shoot down drone \u201cfrom Belarus\u201d over Latvia | Pozirk","description":"August 17, Pozirk. NATO patrol fighter jets last week downed a drone that entered Latvia\u2019s airspace from Belarus, Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/200220\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NATO planes shoot down drone \u201cfrom Belarus\u201d over Latvia | Pozirk","og_description":"August 17, Pozirk. 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