Claims of a deadly shooting during the international Baltic Trust 26 exercises in Latvia began circulating on social media on August 13. According to those reports, a Ukrainian serviceman killed three NATO troops before taking his own life. Latvia’s Defense Ministry soon rejected that account as disinformation.

The Latvian National Armed Forces also denied that the events described online had taken place. The military characterized the reports as part of a coordinated information campaign aimed at discrediting both Latvia’s armed forces and NATO, insisting that the exercises were proceeding without any such events.

Baltic Trust 26 began on August 3 and ran through August 14 at the Selia training ground in southern Latvia. Around 650 military personnel from NATO countries and partner states took part, including representatives of Ukraine, Australia and Japan.

The drills focused primarily on countering unmanned aerial vehicles and using anti-drone systems under combat conditions. Troops trained to detect and identify reconnaissance and attack UAVs, suppress them and defend against coordinated drone attacks.

Participants also tested a range of technical equipment during the exercises. Radar systems, sensors and cameras were deployed alongside electronic warfare equipment and systems designed to disrupt signals.

Latvian authorities maintain that Baltic Trust 26 ended without any such events. At the same time, Latvia or NATO would hardly be expected to publicly acknowledge involvement in events of this kind.