Russian drone shot down in Lithuania was bound for Ukraine

A Russian drone shot down in Kaišiadorys district on Tuesday night was heading for targets in Ukraine, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told LRT on Thursday.

“I can confirm that it was a Russian drone, but its target was not us. Its target was in Ukraine,” Kaunas said in an excerpt from the 15min programme “Apkalbėkime. Su Tadu Ignatavičiumi”.

He said Ukraine had affected the drone with electronic warfare while defending itself against Russia. The drone then lost its original route, crossed Belarus and flew into Lithuania.

The drone was shot down near the Kruonis pumped-storage power plant by Italian fighter jets stationed in Šiauliai, according to BNS. Lithuania delivered a protest note to Belarus over the incident on Wednesday.

President Gitanas Nausėda said after a meeting of the State Defence Council on Wednesday that the drone was most likely launched by Russia and appeared to be a Gerbera-type drone.

Kaunas had earlier declined to confirm that the drone was Russian, saying he did not yet have evidence. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, who visited the Šiauliai air base on Tuesday, also said the drone had originated in Russia.

“I wanted to wait for precise data from our intelligence services so that I could know the information very accurately,” Kaunas told 15min on Thursday.