Lithuanian airspace was violated overnight by a drone, which was downed by a NATO fighter, the first allied jet to shoot down a drone over Lithuanian territory, is believed to be the first. The UAV entered southern Lithuania, near Kaunas, from neighbouring Belarus around midnight on Tuesday, authorities suspect.
President Gitanas Nausėda acknowledged the incident on social media and stressed the importance of regional readiness in response to Russia’s growing aggression towards Ukraine. He reiterated that Lithuania, alongside its allies, will staunchly defend its airspace. Similarly to another incursion in May, which resulted in the grounding of flights and rail travel and had residents of the capital city, Vilnius, taking shelter, the outing caused an alert to the drones in Vilnius and across the country. After Tuesday’s alert, regional emergency responders told people to get to a safe location and stay until given an all-clear.
The Ministry of National Defence presented the Lithuanian Armed Forces with awards for their timely and responsible responses to the threat in the air, joined by their Italian colleagues in the air defense mission. Now investigators will be gathering and analysing the widely distributed debris to help identify the origin of the drone, if it was armed and whether it was a planned or accidental flight path. Police in Moscow have made no statement about the incident.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, incursions by its military drones have become more common throughout Eastern Europe. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) is also keeping a close watch on the airspace, recognizing the emerging danger. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, of the Ministry of Defence, in a statement praised the allied forces, saying they “were once again seen to be ready to defend every inch of allied territory 24/7”.
The latest airspace break is not the only one in recent days. Another drone was reported to have passed from Belarus through Lithuanian airspace and then into Russian airspace on Sunday without alerting to the airspace. In addition, Poland activated preventive aviation operations Monday night following the Russian drone attacks by jet-powered drones in Ukraine in the vicinity of Polish border.
Allied planes also scrambled numerous times this year to intercept drones that strayed into Estonia and Latvia, which Ukraine says are the result of Russian electronic warfare deliberately rerouting the drones. NATO members since 2004 Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are still safeguarded by the Article 5 provision, which considers an armed attack against one member an attack against all members.
