Lithuania not alone in facing drone threats to airspace, says former military chief

Lithuania is not the only country struggling with drones violating its airspace, former defence chief Jonas Vytautas Žukas told LRT, responding to criticism that the military has failed to protect national airspace. He stressed that even advanced surveillance and defence systems cannot guarantee full security, citing similar challenges in Latvia, Estonia, and a recent scandal in Poland where around 30 drones entered undetected.

Žukas argued that blaming Lithuania’s military for inadequate air defence is unfair, as the issue requires a collective solution among frontline states. “We all have this problem. It’s being addressed, but the timelines are stretched,” he said, noting that no system can ensure complete coverage. He pointed to Ukraine’s experience, where even robust anti-drone measures are sometimes bypassed during wartime.

On the question of downing unauthorised drones, Žukas stated that force should be used when possible. “They must be taken down—no one wants to tolerate such violations,” he said, adding that Lithuania already has the necessary tools, including man-portable air defence systems (range up to 4 km), NASAMS, and NATO air policing jets. Decisions to engage depend on risk assessments, he explained, balancing potential damage to civilian areas or critical infrastructure against the threat posed by the drone.

His comments follow a series of incidents this week: a drone crashed into an Estonian power plant after flying from Russia, another exploded in Latvian airspace, and a third—later identified by Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė as Ukrainian—crashed and detonated in Lithuania’s Varėna district. The Lithuanian military confirmed it had not detected the object via radar, learning of the incident only after the fact. Police completed their on-site investigation Tuesday evening, collecting debris for analysis.