Nausėda praises swift response after drone shot down in Lithuania

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda praised the military’s swift response after a drone was shot down in Lithuanian airspace overnight, LRT reported. Italian allied fighter jets intercepted the drone without endangering buildings or people.

“I want to commend the fact that the military reacted quickly, identified the object and that the allies took to the air,” Nausėda said in a statement distributed by his office.

The president said Lithuania’s ability to detect drones through its air defence system was improving. He initially said he did not know whether the drone was carrying explosives. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas later reported that bomb disposal specialists had neutralised explosives at the crash site.

Nausėda said he expected officials to establish more details before a meeting of the State Defence Council on Wednesday. The meeting had been scheduled earlier and is intended to discuss an integrated air defence system.

Military radars detected an object approaching Lithuania from Belarus shortly before midnight on Monday. Residents in Vilnius and Kaunas counties received warnings about a possible air threat.

The drone travelled from the Belarusian border past Vilnius and Lentvaris, through the Trakai and Kaišiadorys districts. At about 12.20 a.m., Italian allied fighter jets that had taken off from the air base in Šiauliai shot it down. The drone fell in the remote village of Pratkūnai in Kaišiadorys district.