European Commission president to visit Lithuania following drone incidents

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Lithuania on Tuesday following last week’s drone incursions into the country’s airspace, Politico reported, citing three anonymous sources.

Von der Leyen is expected to meet with leaders of the Baltic states to discuss a joint response to the incidents, with Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius also participating. An official familiar with the visit’s agenda told the outlet that the meetings would demonstrate solidarity and focus on strengthening collective defence capabilities using EU funding instruments.

Last Wednesday, Lithuanian authorities declared an air threat in Utena County for over an hour after two drones suspected of entering from Belarus were detected. The drones later disappeared from radar, believed to have either crashed or exited Lithuanian airspace. A similar alert was issued the following day in another region over a suspected unmanned aircraft. Recent weeks have seen comparable incidents in other Baltic states and Finland.

Von der Leyen last week stated that Russia and Belarus were directly responsible for drone violations in the Baltics, calling public Russian threats against the region “completely unacceptable.”