Latvia closes airspace with Belarus and Russia for at least a week

According to the country's armed forces, Latvia is closing the airspace on its eastern border with Belarus and Russia after the latter's drones flew into Poland on September 10. About the new restrictions reported Latvian defense minister Andris Sprūds.

"The airspace will be closed from today at 18:00 for at least a week – until September 18. There is no immediate threat, but the army is on high alert during the Namais comprehensive defense exercise," the official said.

According to him, such a restriction "will allow full control of the prohibited airspace zone and facilitate the detection of unauthorized flying objects."

At the same time, Sprūds added, the restricted zone will be open to NATO fighter jets performing air patrol missions in the Baltic States, as well as to Latvia's air defense.

"This will allow us to intensively test acoustic airspace surveillance systems, conduct simulations of drones and anti-drone systems, deploy additional and train mobile combat units," said the head of the Latvian Defense Ministry.

Earlier, Poland introduced a special flight restriction zone along the border with Ukraine and Belarus for three months. In particular, the use of civilian drones prohibited both day and night.

• German сhancellor Merz says Russian drones' flight to Poland shows that NATO's air defense system in Europe requires significant improvement.
• President Zelenskyy and the Polish defense minister linked the incident with the military exercises of Russia and Belarus, which will take place on the territory of the latter on September 12-16.