A suspected Russian drone violated Lithuanian airspace, causing widespread panic and emergency measures. The president took shelter in a bunker, trains around Vilnius were halted, and urgent public warnings instructed residents to take shelter and look after close ones. Schools and nurseries in and around Vilnius moved children into shelters as alerts sounded in the Lithuanian parliament building. NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission was activated, and allied fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the drone. Authorities later said the aircraft failed to locate the object, which may have crashed undetected or left Lithuanian airspace. The alert began shortly after 4.30 pm BST and lasted about an hour, after which restrictions were lifted and monitoring intensified. Lithuania accused Moscow of trying to sow instability, while Russia said it was closely monitoring developments.
"Authorities issued urgent warnings telling residents to "immediately take shelter in a safe place" and "take care of your close ones" as the unidentified drone crossed into Lithuanian territory from neighbouring Latvia. Schools and nurseries in and around Vilnius were ordered to move children into shelters while alerts sounded inside the Lithuanian parliament building, where ministers and MPs were gathered."
"The incident also triggered the activation of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, with allied fighter jets scrambled to intercept the drone. "The Nato Air Policing Mission is activated and targeting a drone detected in Lithuanian airspace," Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said. However, the aircraft failed to locate the object, which authorities said either crashed undetected or left Lithuanian airspace before it could be intercepted."
"The alert, which began shortly after 4.30 pm BST, lasted for around an hour before restrictions were lifted and transport services gradually resumed. Train traffic around Vilnius was temporarily suspended during the emergency, while airspace monitoring was intensified across the region. The scare marks the latest in a series of increasingly tense incidents across the Baltic states as fears grow over Russian military activity near NATO's eastern flank."
"Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys accused Moscow of attempting to sow instability and fear. "This is a transparent act of desperation - an attempt to sow chaos and distract from a simple reality: Ukraine is hitting Russia's military machine hard," he said. "My message to the Kremlin: nice try. Failed again." In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was "closely monitoring" developments."
#lithuania #nato-baltic-air-policing #drone-incident #vilnius-transport-disruption #russia-ukraine-tensions
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