Unidentified drone breaches Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, air force on high alert
Photo: Lithuania detects drone from Belarus (Getty Images)
An unidentified drone was spotted in Lithuanian airspace on the morning of July 28, likely entering from Belarusian territory, according to LRT.
According to the report, the drone was last seen flying at an altitude of about 200 meters near Vilnius.
Authorities do not rule out the possibility that it could be a weather balloon, but say the situation is under control and all emergency services have been placed on high alert.
The object was reportedly detected around 8:00 a.m. Search efforts are ongoing to locate possible debris or the drone itself, in case it made an emergency landing.
Local authorities urged residents not to touch any unknown objects that might be related to the drone and to report them by calling the emergency number 112.
What Lithuania's defense ministry says
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told LRT that the drone’s type has not yet been determined.
She noted that current weather conditions are favorable for launching weather balloons, which are sometimes used for smuggling goods.
"The information is being clarified. Today's weather is favorable for weather balloons, which smugglers may use to transport their goods," she said.
The minister also reminded that on July 10, Lithuanian forces had already recorded a similar airspace violation—when a Gerbera drone, visually identical to an Iranian Shahed, was detected.
Preliminary assessments suggested that the drone may have been launched from Russian territory as a test to probe the air defense readiness of the Baltic states.
Earlier, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs reported that a Russian military drone had crashed in the eastern part of Latvia. An investigation is underway there.
Additionally, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, on the night of September 7–8, a Russian drone crossed into Romania from Ukraine's Odesa region. At the time, residents in Romanian counties bordering Ukraine received alerts warning them of a potential falling object.
