A drone that entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighters. The incident occurred early Friday morning and is attributed to a possible Belarusian origin, according to the Lithuanian president.
NATO fighters neutralised a drone that had entered Lithuanian airspace, according to the country's president, Gitanas Nauseda. The incident took place early Friday morning, just after midnight, when an air alert was declared in several districts of the country.
Nauseda thanked the Italian NATO pilots for their swift response, emphasising that "a drone that had just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets." The president added that this level of preparedness is vital in light of Russia's increasing aggression in the region.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence confirmed that the drone was shot down in Kaunas County, in a rural area near the Kaunas lagoon. Military Police and other emergency services quickly headed to the site to identify the type of drone and its origin, which is preliminarily believed to be Belarus.
According to Vilmantas Vitkauskas, director of the National Crisis Management Centre, the drone moved west after passing through Lentvaris, in the Trakai district. Additionally, operations at Vilnius airport were temporarily restricted due to the aerial threat.
This incident adds to a series of drone-related events in the Baltic countries, where other cases have been reported in recent months, including a serious incident in May where drones struck a facility in Latvia.
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