Lithuania says drone likely crossed airspace into Kaliningrad

An unidentified object that crossed Lithuanian airspace early Sunday and flew into Russia’s Kaliningrad region was most likely a drone, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre, told LRT radio.

“The investigation is still under way. Without having the object in our possession, it is very difficult to make a definitive statement, but based on the recorded parameters, it was most likely an unmanned aircraft,” Vitkauskas said.

He said the object was in Lithuanian airspace for about 20 minutes and flew approximately 60 to 70 kilometres toward the Kaliningrad region. “That is enough time to cause damage,” Vitkauskas said.

Lithuanian military air force radars detected the object at 4:05 a.m. near Varėna as it crossed the country’s territory and entered the Kaliningrad region. It was believed to have come from Belarus.

Residents also reported hearing the object, but Vitkauskas said radars had limited ability to identify it precisely. They record a moving point at a certain speed, altitude and location, he said.

Authorities will also examine the response of Belarusian and Russian services when the object crossed their airspace.

Vitkauskas did not rule out that the object could have been a smuggling drone. Twenty-two such drones have been detected since the beginning of September, he said, adding that wind conditions had not been favourable for smuggling balloons.

The Lithuanian military said the available information was insufficient to determine exactly what the object was, but no direct threat to residents or infrastructure had been identified.

According to BNS, seven suspected Ukrainian drones carrying explosives and affected by Russian equipment have entered Lithuania over the past several years.