Lithuania allows military to shoot down drones violating airspace
Illustrative photo: Lithuanian soldiers will be able to shoot down drones in the country’s skies (Getty Images)
The Lithuanian army has been granted the right to shoot down drones if they violate the country’s airspace. Parliament passed the relevant law, Reuters reports.
So far, the Lithuanian military could only shoot down drones if they were armed or posed an immediate threat to objects important to the state.
Under the new law, the military will be able to shoot down any drones entering the country’s airspace. The initiative was supported by 117 out of 141 members of the Lithuanian parliament. The law will take effect in October.
"Now we can quickly react in any way, including the destruction of drones. Our laws and procedures were not adapted to current threats... we can now react at the speed of lightning," said Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene.
The law specifically gives the Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian armed forces the right to close parts of the country’s airspace and shoot down any drones, which violates rules set out by the chief of defense."
Incidents with Russian drones
On September 10, Russia launched drones toward Poland. As Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted, the drones were without a warhead.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that the purpose of the provocation may have been to disrupt deliveries of air defense systems to Ukraine. Russian leader Vladimir Putin wants to convince Western countries that they will need air defense too.
