Air raid sirens trigger shelter rush in Lithuania’s Utena region

Residents in Lithuania’s Utena region sought shelter on Thursday after authorities declared an air threat and activated sirens, local officials and witnesses reported.

Laimutis Ragaišis, mayor of Ignalina district, confirmed that public shelters were being unlocked and residents were moving to safe locations. “Everyone is heading to shelters or secure indoor spaces, gathering their families and children, and waiting for further instructions,” he told LRT.lt. Municipal staff were also directed to designated safe corridors within buildings.

An LRT.lt journalist in Ignalina described chaotic scenes as people rushed to shelters. “This is the second time this week I’ve had to go to a shelter,” said Nijolė Trinkūnienė, an art teacher, from inside a basement refuge. “Last time I stayed in a hallway, but now we’re in a windowless room—if something hits, we won’t be crushed.”

Journalist Aida Murauskaitė, also sheltering, said alerts blared on phones and in school corridors, prompting people to flee to basements. “There was no major panic, but outside, some were sprinting toward the school building, likely the nearest official shelter,” she noted.

In Utena district, mayor Marijus Kaukėnas reported that emergency sirens had activated, with daycare children moved to secure areas and parents urged to join them. “We have 314 apartment buildings where residents can use basements—maps of shelter locations were distributed earlier,” he said. Kaukėnas, currently outside the region, added that local administrators were coordinating the response.

Molėtai district mayor Saulius Joneika criticised the lack of direct communication to municipal leaders, stating he received the alert as a private citizen, not as an official. “There’s a systemic issue: local authorities don’t get these warnings through official channels,” he said, noting that some residents had received notifications earlier despite initial reports limiting the threat to the Vilnius region.

Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre later issued a yellow alert for the entire Utena region, indicating ongoing heightened risk.