Lithuania's president and prime minister were forced to take shelter on Tuesday, when a drone alert caused the capital Vilnius to come to a standstill. President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to emergency shelters following the air alert, which ordered the city's population to take cover.
Flights were suspended and road and rail travel briefly ground to a halt. The alert has since been lifted. It is not yet clear who was behind the incursion. It came a day after Estonia said NATO shot down a drone over its territory, which it suspected was a Ukrainian projectile knocked off course by Russian electronic interference.
The alert from Lithuania's defence ministry warned the public to 'immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations.' This was in direct response to a drone in nearby Belarus that was spotted flying towards Lithuania. Although the origin of the drone remains unconfirmed, Lithuania's military mentioned that NATO jets were deployed to intercept it but were unable to locate it.
An evacuation order was also issued at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, with politicians and staff led to a basement shelter. On the same day, Estonian officials reported that a NATO fighter jet had shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone with no damage reported. Ukraine subsequently accused Moscow of manipulating their drones to stray into Baltic airspace, expressing apologies to their Baltic allies for the unintended incidents.
The situation has heightened tensions in the region following a series of drone incursions over NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with diplomatic relations strained. Moscow has accused the Baltic states of facilitating Ukrainian actions against its territory, while Lithuania and its neighbors deny such claims. Recent military incursions have further complicated relations, underscoring the delicate geopolitical landscape following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Flights were suspended and road and rail travel briefly ground to a halt. The alert has since been lifted. It is not yet clear who was behind the incursion. It came a day after Estonia said NATO shot down a drone over its territory, which it suspected was a Ukrainian projectile knocked off course by Russian electronic interference.
The alert from Lithuania's defence ministry warned the public to 'immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations.' This was in direct response to a drone in nearby Belarus that was spotted flying towards Lithuania. Although the origin of the drone remains unconfirmed, Lithuania's military mentioned that NATO jets were deployed to intercept it but were unable to locate it.
An evacuation order was also issued at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, with politicians and staff led to a basement shelter. On the same day, Estonian officials reported that a NATO fighter jet had shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone with no damage reported. Ukraine subsequently accused Moscow of manipulating their drones to stray into Baltic airspace, expressing apologies to their Baltic allies for the unintended incidents.
The situation has heightened tensions in the region following a series of drone incursions over NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, with diplomatic relations strained. Moscow has accused the Baltic states of facilitating Ukrainian actions against its territory, while Lithuania and its neighbors deny such claims. Recent military incursions have further complicated relations, underscoring the delicate geopolitical landscape following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
