UPDATE 1-Ukraine weighs sending security experts to Baltic states amid drone incidents

Ukraine is ​considering sending experts to help ‌strengthen ​air security over the Baltic states, the country's foreign minister said on Friday, after ‌two supposedly Ukrainian drones crashed in Latvia, entering from Russia. NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which border Russia, have reported a number of ‌such incidents in recent months as Ukraine stepped up long-range ‌attacks against its enemy.

Ukraine is ​considering sending experts to help ‌strengthen ​air security over the Baltic states, the country's foreign minister said on Friday, after ‌two supposedly Ukrainian drones crashed in Latvia, entering from Russia.

NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which border Russia, have reported a number of ‌such incidents in recent months as Ukraine stepped up long-range ‌attacks against its enemy. "If there is a confirmation that those were Ukrainian drones that were deliberately knocked off course and directed toward Latvia by Russia's ⁠electronic ​warfare, we will ⁠offer our most sincere apologies to our Latvian friends," Andrii Sybiha, the minister, ⁠said on X. "We are also considering a possibility of sending Ukrainian expert ​teams to help directly strengthen the airspace security of our ⁠friends against any types of incidents," he said. Ukraine is working to ⁠minimise ​the risk of such incidents recurring, Sybiha added.

Four empty oil tanks were damaged in Thursday's incident in Rezekne, about 40 ⁠km (25 miles) from the Russian border, Latvian police and firefighters said. Latvia ⁠and Lithuania ⁠on Thursday called on NATO to boost air defences in the region in the wake of ‌such ‌incidents.