LONDON

Latvia's airspace along its eastern border will be closed until Sept. 18 following Russian drone incursions into Poland, the defense minister said Thursday.

Andris Spruds said the airspace will be closed to a depth of 50 kilometers (31 miles) along the borders with Russia and Belarus from 6 pm local time (1500GMT) on Thursday.

The decision to close the airspace could be extended after Sept. 18, if necessary, according to public broadcaster LSM.

Spruds noted that Latvia "must act accordingly" after Wednesday's drone incursions into Poland, which he called "a blatant violation of NATO airspace."

He confirmed that there is currently no direct threat to Latvia, but preventive measures are necessary.

LSM reported that the National Armed Forces were already in a state of high alert during the "Namejs" military training exercises.

"Russian drones in NATO airspace are a wake-up call, and we must do everything possible to prevent an escalation of drone attacks," said Spruds.

Poland called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and introduced sweeping restrictions on civilian flights along its eastern border with Belarus and Ukraine.

It comes amid heightened security concerns in the NATO member state after Wednesday’s drone incident, which prompted Warsaw to step up coordination with allies.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its drones had carried out a large-scale strike on military targets in western Ukraine but denied any intention to hit Polish territory.