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. This was the latest in a series of recent drone incursions over NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
An alert from Lithuania's defence ministry on Wednesday advised citizens to 'immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations.' The warning followed reports of a drone in neighbouring Belarus observed flying towards Lithuania. Despite the alert, the specific origin of the drone has not been confirmed. Lithuanian military officials later indicated that NATO jets had been deployed to intercept the drone but were unable to locate it.
Local media reported an evacuation order at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, leading politicians and their staff to a basement shelter. In a related development, Estonia has confirmed that a NATO fighter jet shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone, with no reported damage to facilities.
Ukraine has reacted by accusing Russia of intentionally redirecting Ukrainian drones towards Baltic states, apologizing to Estonia for any unintended incidents. Recent weeks have seen heightened tensions in the region, with Ukrainian drone activity intensifying and Moscow presenting allegations against the Baltic states for allowing transits linked to Ukrainian military operations. President Putin stated that Russia is actively monitoring these situations as part of its military strategy.
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. This was the latest in a series of recent drone incursions over NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
An alert from Lithuania's defence ministry on Wednesday advised citizens to 'immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations.' The warning followed reports of a drone in neighbouring Belarus observed flying towards Lithuania. Despite the alert, the specific origin of the drone has not been confirmed. Lithuanian military officials later indicated that NATO jets had been deployed to intercept the drone but were unable to locate it.
Local media reported an evacuation order at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, leading politicians and their staff to a basement shelter. In a related development, Estonia has confirmed that a NATO fighter jet shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone, with no reported damage to facilities.
Ukraine has reacted by accusing Russia of intentionally redirecting Ukrainian drones towards Baltic states, apologizing to Estonia for any unintended incidents. Recent weeks have seen heightened tensions in the region, with Ukrainian drone activity intensifying and Moscow presenting allegations against the Baltic states for allowing transits linked to Ukrainian military operations. President Putin stated that Russia is actively monitoring these situations as part of its military strategy.
