Lithuania cannot sustain permanent troop deployment on borders due to drone incidents, says presidential advisor

Lithuania cannot realistically maintain a constant high-level military presence along its borders in peacetime, despite recent drone incursions, presidential national security advisor Deividas Matulionis told LRT Radio on Thursday.

His comments follow three separate drone crashes in the Baltic states this week—one in Lithuania’s Varėna district and two others in Latvian and Estonian airspace. Authorities confirmed all three were Ukrainian drones that veered off course during operations targeting Russia.

Matulionis acknowledged that with Lithuania sharing a 700 km border with Belarus and a 200 km border with Russia, “such accidental overflights may occur and could have consequences.” However, he called expectations of sustained troop deployments along the entire frontier “unrealistic.”

The advisor emphasised that Lithuania’s core challenge remains limited detection capabilities, though efforts are underway to address gaps. The Ministry of National Defence has procured low-altitude radars—scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2028—and plans to establish a full detection ecosystem by 2030, backed by a €500 million allocation approved last year.

“There are also so-called sonar detection tools that the military has begun testing to complement radars, and we do have neutralisation measures,” Matulionis noted.

The drone recovered in Varėna district crashed into Lake Lavyso early Monday, posing no threat to residents. Latvian and Estonian officials reported their respective incursions occurred overnight Tuesday.