Lithuania declares air raid alert over drone from Belarus
Photo: Lithuania issued an air raid alert and scrambled fighter jets due to a drone from Belarus (Getty Images)
Lithuania has issued an air raid alert and scrambled NATO fighter jets due to a drone threat near the border with Belarus, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.
"Lithuania has issued an air alert in parts of the country after a suspected drone approaching from Belarus was detected near the border," the statement says.
The Ministry notes that due to the drone threat, NATO airspace patrols in the Baltic states were activated.
The military says this incident is similar to what we have seen in recent days in Latvia and Estonia; warning residents is a standard preventive measure.
Drone activity was detected in areas near the border, close to the Ignalina, Utena, Zarasai, and Švenčionys districts in eastern Lithuania. The warning was later extended to the capital, Vilnius, and the surrounding region.
Residents of these areas received a public warning about the possible presence of a drone nearby, and a yellow alert level regarding an air threat was declared in these areas.
Later, a red emergency alert level was declared in the Vilnius region.
Military officials noted that the NATO mission to patrol the Baltic airspace was activated after a radar signature was detected over Belarus.
The airspace above Vilnius Airport was closed on Wednesday at 10 a.m. following the declaration of the air alert.
Drones in Baltic States
On May 17, Latvia issued a warning about a potential threat to its airspace in several regions bordering Russia due to the appearance of an unidentified drone in the sky.
On May 19, a NATO fighter jet patrolling the airspace in the Baltic region shot down a drone over Estonia for the first time.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys stated that NATO has the means to raze Russian air defense and missile bases located in Kaliningrad to the ground.
