Lithuania explains decision not to shoot down Russian Gerbera drone
Gerbera drone (Militarnyi)
Lithuanian air defense forces did not shoot down the Russian Gerbera drone because, in peacetime, aerial objects are intercepted only in exceptional cases. Authorization for such action must come directly from the Minister of Defense, according to an official statement by the Lithuanian military published by LRT.
The Lithuanian military stated that, in peacetime, aerial objects are only destroyed in absolutely exceptional cases. They emphasized that civilized countries do not shoot down objects that pose no threat, even if they cross national borders.
They also noted that airspace during peacetime is managed by civilian authorities, while monitoring and control are handled by the Airspace Surveillance and Control Authority of the Lithuanian Air Force.
Lithuanian authorities explained that military personnel are only permitted to shoot down aerial targets if those objects pose a threat to national security or critical infrastructure. The decision to authorize such action can be made by either the Minister of Defense of Lithuania or a designated official if the army is involved, or by NATO's Allied Air Command if fighter jets from the air policing mission are used.
They emphasized that interception is only carried out after a formal decision has been made. The Lithuanian military confirmed that the drone in question did not threaten human lives or vital infrastructure — otherwise, it would have been destroyed.
On July 10, Lithuanian fighter jets were scrambled in response to an unidentified drone approaching from Belarus. As a precaution, senior government officials were moved to shelters. The drone eventually crashed about one kilometer from the Belarusian border near the closed Šumskas border crossing.
Later, Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė confirmed that the object was a Russian Gerbera drone — an unarmed decoy UAV designed to distract air defense systems. It remains unclear how the drone was able to travel through Ukraine and Belarus before reaching Lithuanian territory.
