Air raid alerts trigger shelter rush in Utena and Ignalina regions

Residents in Lithuania’s Utena and Ignalina districts rushed to bomb shelters on Thursday after air raid sirens sounded due to an aerial threat, local officials and journalists reported.

Laimutis Ragaišis, mayor of Ignalina district municipality, told LRT.lt that people were moving quickly to shelters following the alert. Sirens blared in Ignalina and Molėtai before the highest threat level was later downgraded to “yellow.”

“All residents are heading to safe places or shelters, taking care of their loved ones and children while awaiting further instructions,” Ragaišis said. He added that municipal employees had gathered in corridors, while public institutions—except the local music school—had suspended operations.

An LRT.lt journalist in Ignalina described the scene inside a shelter: “This is the second time this week we’ve had to go to a shelter. The first time, I was at home and just stayed in the hallway. Now, in this shelter—no windows, just a narrow corridor—if something exploded, we’d be trapped.”

Journalist Aida Murauskaitė recounted receiving the alert mid-interview: “Phone notifications about the air threat started coming in, telling us to go to shelters. The same alerts spread through school corridors. First, we rushed to a narrow hallway, then down to the basement shelter.” She noted that while panic was limited, some people were seen running toward the school building, likely the designated shelter.

In Utena district, mayor Marijus Kaukėnas confirmed that residents and daycare children were moving to shelters after sirens activated. “Parents arriving can stay with their children. Photos show many people have already gathered in shelters,” he told ELTA, adding that the district’s 314 apartment buildings have basements marked as shelters on previously distributed maps.

Molėtai district mayor Saulius Joneika criticised the lack of direct communication with local leaders, stating he received the alert as a private citizen, not through official channels. “There’s a systemic issue—municipal heads don’t get these messages officially. We need a mechanism to ensure local leaders receive alerts the same way residents do,” he said.

The alerts follow a week of heightened tensions, with similar shelter orders issued earlier in Vilnius region. Authorities have not specified the nature of the aerial threat.