Lithuania prepares legal amendments to compensate damage from downing drones

Lithuania is drafting legal changes to ensure compensation for damage caused by downed unmanned aircraft, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas announced on Thursday, as reported by LRT.

The proposed amendments follow Poland’s model, introduced after drones crashed on its territory, and aim to clarify liability for damage to civilian or other infrastructure from falling drone debris. “We are initiating a legal amendment so that any damage—whether to civilian infrastructure or other structures—would be unambiguously compensated,” Kaunas told journalists in parliament.

The minister stressed the changes would also remove hesitation for military personnel making decisions to intercept drones. “Pilots or armed forces representatives who take final decisions should do so without fear, doubt, or concern over accountability,” he said. NATO fighter jets, conducting air policing missions, would be authorised to down drones if necessary, with streamlined procedures to “eliminate any ambiguity.”

The announcement comes after several drones entered Latvian airspace from Russia on Thursday morning, with two reported to have crashed. Drone incidents in the Baltics have grown more frequent, often involving Ukrainian drones straying off course after targeting sites in Russia. Authorities have linked the rise in incidents to Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, warning of potential recurrence.

Lithuania’s most recent drone crash occurred in early March, when a drone landed on the frozen Lake Lavyso in Varėna district, near the Belarusian border.