Latvia shoots down drone after issuing air threat alert

Overnight, Russia shot down 15 drones over its Leningrad region, close to the Finnish and Estonian border and home to St Petersburg, Russia's second biggest city and a major export hub, regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Telegram early Friday.

Reuters reported that Russia's northern NATO neighbours are tightening security around dams, power plants and natural gas infrastructure. The move signals mounting concern that Moscow could stage a so-called false flag attack on that infrastructure using Ukrainian drones.

The three events – a live intercept over Latvian territory, a fresh Finnish restriction, and a large-scale Russian intercept operation near its own northern border – all landed within the same 24-hour window. The pattern marks a step up from the alert-and-clear routine that has characterised most Baltic and Nordic drone incidents so far this year.