An unidentified drone has entered Lithuania from Belarus, the country’s authorities said on Monday morning.
Residents in parts of the country received phone alert messages warning about the aircraft, which was described as an “unidentified type of drone”. Authorities urged anyone who sees the downed drone not to approach it and to immediately notify the police.
According to the National Crisis Management Centre, residents were the first to report the drone’s presence.
“Based on the information received, the drone was seen flying at an altitude of about 200 meters and was last observed near Vilnius,” said Darius Buta, a spokesperson for the centre. “Police have mobilised all available units, and all relevant services have been informed.”
The type and purpose of the drone remain unknown.
Social media users reported spotting the drone entering Lithuania shortly before 05:00.
On July 10, a drone also crossed into Lithuania from Belarus. Authorities initially suspected it was a Russian Shahed drone used in the war against Ukraine, but later confirmed it was a Gerbera model – a Russian-made decoy drone visually similar to the Shahed, intended to mislead air defences.
Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said Monday morning it was still unclear what type of drone flew into Lithuania.
“I have just spoken with the interior minister and the commander of the Armed Forces. The information is currently being verified. We would like to point out that today’s weather conditions are favourable for weather balloons, which, as we know, are used by smugglers to transport their goods. We cannot yet say exactly what type of object or objects these are,” Šakalienė told LRT RADIO.
The minister said she had no information whether the country’s leaders had been taken to shelters due to the latest incident.
“I have no information about this. My job right now is to find out exactly what is going on, what we can do, and what the next steps are,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, the country’s flight controller said the drone did not disturb navigation.
“Flights are operating as usual,” Ingrida Daugirdė, spokeswoman to Oro Navigacija, told BNS.
Armed forces search for the drone
The military air force detected the object while it was still in Belarusian territory, and the most likely version is that it was a stray drone disoriented by Ukrainian air defence, the Armed Forces said on Monday.
“The Lithuanian Air Force observed the object while it was still in Belarusian territory, and the information was passed on to NATO’s Joint Air Operations Centre. The most likely version so far is that it was an aircraft disoriented by Ukrainian air defence but all possible scenarios will be investigated,” according to a statement posted on Facebook.
“Currently, soldiers and representatives of other state institutions are searching for the aircraft, after which the same actions will be taken as in the case of Gerbera – bomb disposal experts will work at the scene and a further investigation will be conducted,” the statement said.
Photo: a Gerbera model – a Russian-made decoy drone – similar to the one that entered Lithuania airspace
