People crowded into a shelter at the Lithuanian parliament after a mobile phone alert urged residents to take cover. The alert, the first of its kind in an EU and Nato country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was issued after a drone violated Lithuania's airspace.
Emergency Response
Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė were rushed to underground bunkers along with cabinet members and MPs. Residents of Vilnius were urged to take shelter, and air and train traffic in and around the city were suspended for about an hour after the defence ministry's warning at 10.20am on Wednesday.
Schools brought children to designated shelters, and people in offices and apartment buildings moved to basements. The alert lasted approximately one hour.
International Reactions
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for a spate of drone incursions into EU and Nato countries' airspace in recent weeks. Russian electronic jamming has been blamed for Ukrainian drones crossing into Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasised that even if drones crash-landing in the Baltic states were launched by Ukraine, they are there because of Russia's reckless attack. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that a more forceful response might be necessary.
Details of the Incident
Lithuania's army detected a radar signal typical of an unmanned aerial vehicle in Belarusian airspace. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre, said a drone was spotted in the Vilnius area, likely a combat drone or one designed to deceive systems. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas noted the drone came from Latvia, and it is unknown whether it crashed or left Lithuanian airspace. Nato fighter jets were unable to locate it.
Russia's ambassador to the UN caused outrage by claiming Kyiv would soon launch drones from the Baltic states. Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys accused Moscow of deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones into Baltic airspace. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia's military is monitoring the situation closely.
