Residents of Vilnius were told to take shelter, and Lithuania's president and prime minister were taken to safe locations after an alarm over drone activity near the border with Belarus went off. The incident has underlined jitters in NATO's eastern bloc over incursions related to Russia's war with Ukraine.
Emergency Response
An emergency announcement from the military told people in the Vilnius region to 'immediately head to a shelter or a safe place'. The alert, which lasted for about an hour, also led to the closure of the airspace over Vilnius Airport. President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to shelters, and there was also an evacuation order at Lithuania's parliament, the Seimas, the BNS news agency reported.
It was the first major alert that sent residents and political leaders in the European Union and NATO capitals rushing to shelters since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Drone Detection
Wednesday's alert came after the military said it detected drone activity in Belarus, but no drones were sighted over Lithuania. 'Based on the parameters we saw, it's most likely either a combat drone or a drone designed to deceive systems and lure targets,' Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, said in a news briefing. 'The electronic countermeasures here can't tell us whether an explosive device detonated or not. It's very, very difficult.' Based on the altitude and speed, it was probably a drone, he said, 'though we can't say at this stage exactly what kind of drone it was or where it was launched from.'
Lithuania borders Russia-allied Belarus to the east and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave to the west.
Broader Context
Belarus reported the potential drone to Lithuania, according to Brigadier General Nerijus Stankevicius, commander of the Lithuanian Army's Land Forces. In recent months, Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia have crossed or come down in NATO territory on numerous occasions. Western officials have blamed what they say is likely Russian electronic jamming of the drones. Russia, meanwhile, has renewed threats that it would retaliate if Ukrainian drones are launched from Baltic countries or if those countries are complicit in their use against Russia.
The incident highlights the heightened security concerns in the region amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
