Prime minister reports NATO missile debris near Biržai

Debris from a missile fired by a NATO fighter jet was found near Biržai, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said, according to LRT.

Air alerts were issued twice overnight across large parts of Lithuania after drones were detected. NATO fighter jets were scrambled in both cases, but the drones were not shot down and flew into Latvian airspace, the report said.

Sinkevičius said the National Crisis Management Centre had recorded four drones and dozens of balloon detections in the region. One drone crossed Lithuanian territory, and an attempt was made to neutralise it. The prime minister urged anyone who finds a suspicious object not to approach or touch it, and to report it to emergency services by calling 112.

National Crisis Management Centre head Vilmantas Vitkauskas said three drones were first tracked in Belarus, but did not enter Lithuania. One flew into Latvia and later headed towards northern Russia. Residents of Vilnius and Utena counties were alerted during this first episode.

In the second episode, one drone is believed to have entered Lithuania from Belarus near Druskininkai. It may have briefly crossed into Poland before turning north and passing through Marijampolė, Kaunas and Panevėžys counties. It left Lithuanian airspace near Pasvalys. Alerts were issued in Druskininkai, Lazdijai, Marijampolė, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Radviliškis, Pasvalys and Biržai.

Vitkauskas said fighter jets had detected the object but had not managed to shoot it down. He said poor weather or concerns about the safety of firing over the area might have been factors.

Authorities had received a warning about possible balloons at around 9.30pm. Vilnius Airport was initially closed, followed by Kaunas Airport; the airspace was closed again as the situation escalated. Preliminary information indicated that three flights at Vilnius Airport were affected, involving more than 400 passengers.

After 3am, Latvia issued an alert about a threat to airspace in the municipalities of Cēsis, Smiltene and Gulbene. Latvia’s National Armed Forces said interceptor drones, air defence units and NATO air policing fighter jets had been activated in Baltic airspace. There was no information on how many drones were involved or whether any had crashed or been shot down. Similar alerts were issued in parts of Estonia and Lithuania.

Sinkevičius said the overnight events would be investigated in detail.