Poland signs first loan deal as part of EU defense spending push

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo — Polish service members perform Close-Quarters Battle (CQB) training at Fort Carson, Colorado, May 24, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Bryant via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS))

KYIV, May 8  -  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. 

 (Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Alexandra Hudson // REUTERS)