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. It came a day after Estonia said NATO shot down a drone over its territory, which it suspected was a Ukrainian projectile knocked off course by Russian electronic interference.
The latest escalation in drone activity follows prior incursions over NATO members, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Lithuania's defence ministry issued a public alert advising citizens to immediately seek shelter and await further instructions. Earlier, drones flying from Belarus into Lithuania prompted security concerns, although the confirmed origin of the drone has yet to be disclosed.
In the aftermath, Lithuania's military reported NATO jets were deployed to intercept the drone, but were unable to locate it. Local media indicated that an evacuation was conducted in the Seimas (Lithuania's parliament), where politicians and staff were led to a basement shelter for safety.
Prior to this incident, Estonia’s officials announced that a NATO jet had successfully shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone without causing damage. Ukraine later accused Russia of deliberately diverting their missiles toward neighboring states, expressing regret to the Baltic nations for any unintended consequences. The ongoing situation has added strain to regional relations, with calls for vigilance against further incursions.
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. It came a day after Estonia said NATO shot down a drone over its territory, which it suspected was a Ukrainian projectile knocked off course by Russian electronic interference.
The latest escalation in drone activity follows prior incursions over NATO members, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Lithuania's defence ministry issued a public alert advising citizens to immediately seek shelter and await further instructions. Earlier, drones flying from Belarus into Lithuania prompted security concerns, although the confirmed origin of the drone has yet to be disclosed.
In the aftermath, Lithuania's military reported NATO jets were deployed to intercept the drone, but were unable to locate it. Local media indicated that an evacuation was conducted in the Seimas (Lithuania's parliament), where politicians and staff were led to a basement shelter for safety.
Prior to this incident, Estonia’s officials announced that a NATO jet had successfully shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone without causing damage. Ukraine later accused Russia of deliberately diverting their missiles toward neighboring states, expressing regret to the Baltic nations for any unintended consequences. The ongoing situation has added strain to regional relations, with calls for vigilance against further incursions.
