Two NATO members say Russian drones violated their airspace
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00:00They can fly very long distances to strike targets with optimum precision.
00:05Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the use of military drones has
00:08increased on both sides of the battle and have even penetrated the airspace of nearby NATO
00:14countries, such as Latvia, the former territory of the Soviet Union, where on Sunday a Russian
00:20drone crashed near Rzekna, a town of nearly 30,000 inhabitants.
00:24This is a serious incident that reminds us once again of what our neighbours are like and how we
00:31need to strengthen our military capabilities. This now confirms that Latvian air defence needs
00:37to be strengthened. That's what we're doing. According to authorities, the drone flew over
00:42Latvian airspace from Belarus. And the incident is far from isolated.
00:48Romania has also condemned Russia for flying drones over its territory,
00:53as has Poland, which in recent months has recorded at least two cases of its airspace
00:58being violated by Russian drones or missiles. Attacks in Ukraine, such as this one here in
01:04Lviv, which are close to the Polish border, are also cause for concern.
01:09In order to protect their territories,
01:11some NATO countries are demanding the right to pre-emptively shoot down drones in Ukrainian skies.
01:18Membership in NATO does not trump each country's responsibility to protect its own airspace.
01:24I'm personally of the view that when hostile missiles are on course to enter our airspace,
01:30it would be legitimate self-defence, because once they do cross into our airspace,
01:35the risk of debris injuring someone is significant.
01:39But even though the number of incidents has increased in recent months,
01:42NATO refuses to accept such a scenario.