In Pabrika’s assessment, this incident has left a negative impression both in domestic and foreign politics.
Internally, great efforts were made to show that the country is serious about defense and that a repeat of 1940 will not be allowed (Latvian leader Kārlis Ulmanis announced in 1940 that “I will stay in my place, and you stay in yours”). “Well, stay where you are, everything is fine, everything is calm, don’t worry. This is not right,” emphasized Pabriks, while admitting that Russian drones were not shot down in other NATO countries either.
Pabriks admitted that, for understandable reasons, he does not know the details of what happened, but he believes that the specific drone should have been shot down in this geopolitical situation in order to demonstrate his position to the Latvian public and potential opponents.
At the same time, he admitted that there are no anti-aircraft defense units placed every ten kilometers along the border of Latvia. If the defense department admitted that they had already seen the drone in Belarus and that it had flown about 100 kilometers in the territory of Latvia, then, knowing the speed of “Shahed”, it gives the National Armed Forces (NBS) some time reserve, explained Pabriks. He believes that during this time it was possible to find means on the ground to neutralize the drone. Also, the time reserve gives enough opportunity to lift the Lielvārde-based NATO planes, says Pabriks.
Pabriks agreed that the drone would not need to be destroyed by missiles from an aircraft, but could be neutralized by other types of weapons, such as a machine gun from an aircraft. Also, such an aircraft can be neutralized from the ground with machine guns, short-range air defense system “RBS-70”, anti-aircraft missile system “Stinger”.
Of course, there are risks in neutralizing the place of its fall, but what to do in case “Shahed” had fallen in Rezekne or in the soldiers’ camp and exploded, the former minister asked rhetorically.
“The bottom line is that communication should not have been like in 1940. Communication and practical actions were late and more in line with the mentality of 1940. The drone had to be shot down so that the enemy would see that we will not be allowed to fly here, and also the allies so that they would see our action. There cannot be a situation like in Romania, where a drone flies in, flies through, then turns to Ukraine and kills people there,” emphasized Pabriks.
Speaking about the next steps, Pabriks pointed out that the country should commit to seriously strengthening the country’s eastern border with anti-aircraft defense. If the NBS is not able to cope 100%, then additional devices and means for shooting down such drones must be urgently requested from the allies, emphasizes Pabriks. At the same time, in cooperation with like-minded countries, pressure should be continued on the allies to give greater rights and opportunities to Ukraine to act also on the territory of Russia, he believes.
As reported, on September 7, a Russian “Shahed” type drone equipped with explosives, which was aimed at Ukraine, but came to Latvia from Balochistan, fell on September 7 in Gaigalava parish in Rēzekne district.
The NBS monitored the situation, but no decision was made either to shoot down this drone or to take the NATO fighter jets on duty in Latvia into the air.
When the drone fell, the warhead that had not exploded initially was deactivated. According to the NBS management, the information obtained so far shows that the arrival of the drone in Latvia cannot be regarded as an open military escalation against Latvia.
The National Security Council agreed on Tuesday to “update and improve the necessary procedures” to implement a more effective response to security threats posed by drones.
2024-09-11 12:53:36