Lithuania scrambles NATO fighters after alert in two counties

A likely air threat alert was issued in Lithuania’s Vilnius and Utena counties after an unidentified object was reported flying from the direction of Belarus, and NATO air-policing fighters were scrambled, LRT reported.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces announced the alert over a drone threat. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre, said the fighters had been sent up in response to the unidentified object.

The yellow alert advises people to stay calm and identify a safe place or shelter. Anyone who sees a suspicious object should not approach it and should call 112.

An air alert was last issued on October 18, when a red alert was declared in Panevėžys and Šiauliai counties over an object that entered Lithuanian airspace. It was lifted about an hour later.

Shelters are intended to provide short term protection during an air threat. Residents are advised to seek a marked shelter or another safe place, such as a basement or an underground passage, and avoid windows, balconies, lifts and open spaces.