Two unidentified objects vanish from radar over Utena region, search underway

A search operation is ongoing in Lithuania’s Utena district after two unidentified flying objects disappeared from radar screens on Thursday, defence officials confirmed.

Lithuania’s defence minister, Robertas Kaunas, and the chief of the Defence Staff, Rear Admiral Giedrius Premeneckas, told reporters that NATO air policing jets had tracked the objects—believed to be drones—heading toward Utena before losing contact. A helicopter has since been deployed to assist in the search, LRT reports.

Kaunas suggested the incidents may be linked to Ukrainian drones, possibly knocked off course by Russian electronic warfare. “It appears these drones are being jammed and flying uncontrollably,” he said, adding that their exact origin remains unconfirmed. “All versions remain on the table,” he noted, addressing speculation about potential Russian involvement.

Premeneckas said radar systems first detected two signals near the Belarus-Latvia border around 16:00 local time, moving sequentially toward Lithuania. Both signals vanished near Utena district. “Air policing aircraft lost radar contact and could not continue tracking,” he explained, citing low cloud cover as a complicating factor.

The officials acknowledged challenges in the current alert system, including weather conditions and increasing drone activity, but stressed that public warnings had functioned as intended. The air raid alert in Utena was lifted later on Thursday, with no objects located.

Lithuania has seen repeated air threat alerts this week, mirroring similar incidents in Estonia and Latvia. On Monday, NATO jets downed a drone over Estonia, while Latvia has reported multiple airspace violations.