Latvia raises air alert to orange in Krāslava, then lowers it

On the evening of 10 November 2026, the Latvian National Armed Forces issued a yellow warning of a possible threat in Latvian airspace over the Ludza, Krāslava and Augšdaugava municipalities in the east of the country. Residents received alerts on their mobile phones. According to Latvian public broadcaster LSM, interceptor drones and air defence units were activated, and fighters from NATO's air policing mission were scrambled in the Baltic region.

Shortly after midnight, at 00:08 on 11 November, the military said the threat level in the Krāslava municipality had been raised from yellow to orange. At 00:24 it announced that the level in the Krāslava and Ludza municipalities had been lowered back to yellow. A possible threat in the airspace remains, but no further action is required from the public.

What the levels mean

A yellow level is an informational message that does not require immediate action. Under Latvia's warning system, an orange level means a confirmed threat in Latvian airspace and requires immediate action from the public in the affected areas. The three municipalities border Russia and Belarus.

The object has not been identified

The military has not said what the object was, where it entered or where it was heading. Nor has it said whether it was shot down or left Latvian airspace. At the time of publication, no final all-clear had been announced.

Another alert this month

This is at least the third air alert in eastern Latvia since the start of November. On 1 November, an unidentified object entered from the Russian border in the Ludza and Krāslava area and left Latvian airspace about 20 minutes later. On 3 November, the Latvian military assessed one of the intruding drones as a Russian Geran-type drone and the other as Ukrainian.