Lithuania's president and prime minister were forced to take shelter on Tuesday, when a drone alert caused the capital Vilnius to come to a standstill. President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to emergency shelters following the air alert, which ordered the city's population to take cover.
Flights were suspended and road and rail travel briefly ground to a halt. The alert has since been lifted. It is not yet clear who was behind the incursion.
The incident comes a day after Estonia reported that NATO shot down a drone over its territory, suspected to be a Ukrainian projectile disrupted by Russian electronic interference.
This was the latest in a series of recent drone incursions over NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. An alert from Lithuania's defense ministry stated, 'Immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations.'
Lithuania's national crisis management center reported that the alert was issued in response to a drone spotted in neighboring Belarus heading towards Lithuania. The drone's origin is still unconfirmed, with Lithuania's military deploying NATO jets to intercept it, but they could not locate the aircraft.
Evacuations were conducted at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, where politicians and staff were led to a basement shelter. On the same day, Estonian officials confirmed that a NATO fighter jet had downed a suspected Ukrainian drone with no reported damages. Ukraine responded by accusing Russia of rerouting their drones towards the Baltic states, expressing regret to Estonia and other neighboring nations.
This follows recent political turmoil in Latvia after a series of incidents involving Ukrainian drones straying into its territory, leading to the resignation of Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina last week. The reoccurring drone activity has escalated tensions in the region as Ukrainian forces ramp up drone operations against targets within Russia, with Moldova closely observing the developments.
Flights were suspended and road and rail travel briefly ground to a halt. The alert has since been lifted. It is not yet clear who was behind the incursion.
The incident comes a day after Estonia reported that NATO shot down a drone over its territory, suspected to be a Ukrainian projectile disrupted by Russian electronic interference.
This was the latest in a series of recent drone incursions over NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. An alert from Lithuania's defense ministry stated, 'Immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations.'
Lithuania's national crisis management center reported that the alert was issued in response to a drone spotted in neighboring Belarus heading towards Lithuania. The drone's origin is still unconfirmed, with Lithuania's military deploying NATO jets to intercept it, but they could not locate the aircraft.
Evacuations were conducted at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, where politicians and staff were led to a basement shelter. On the same day, Estonian officials confirmed that a NATO fighter jet had downed a suspected Ukrainian drone with no reported damages. Ukraine responded by accusing Russia of rerouting their drones towards the Baltic states, expressing regret to Estonia and other neighboring nations.
This follows recent political turmoil in Latvia after a series of incidents involving Ukrainian drones straying into its territory, leading to the resignation of Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina last week. The reoccurring drone activity has escalated tensions in the region as Ukrainian forces ramp up drone operations against targets within Russia, with Moldova closely observing the developments.
