Lithuania cancels air alert after unidentified object disappears from radar

Lithuania cancelled a possible air threat alert at 10:37 on Saturday after an unidentified object disappeared from radar coverage, LRT reported. Authorities said the object no longer posed a threat, but would search for it and inspect the area where the signal vanished.

Fighter jets were scrambled after the alert was issued shortly before 10 a.m. The controlled airspace around Vilnius Airport was temporarily closed because of activity by unidentified flying objects.

National Crisis Management Centre head Vilmantas Vitkauskas said the object had not been identified and was being searched for. If it had crashed and was a drone, it would need to be found, he said, but its speed was lower than usual for a drone. He added that the radar signal could have been caused by an anomaly or bird migration.

The centre’s representative Darius Buta said the object had entered Lithuania from Belarus. Residents reported seeing a possible object beyond Vilnius, moving towards Jonava, but Vitkauskas said those reports could not be confirmed. He also said a threat could potentially be declared in Kaunas district while the object remained unidentified, and that a flock of birds could not be ruled out.

Ukmergė Mayor Darius Varnas said the town was operating normally while staying in contact with the centre. Alerts about a possible air threat had also been sent to Ukmergė. Fire and Rescue Department head Renatas Požėla said the agency had received calls from residents in Kaišiadorys, Molėtai and Vilnius district about a possible drone sound or a sighting. Those reports were being checked.

Požėla urged people not to approach suspicious objects. Footage taken from a safe distance could help authorities, he said.