NATO jets track drone across Lithuania but cannot shoot it down

A drone that entered Lithuania from Belarus overnight crossed parts of the country before leaving its airspace, but NATO fighter jets failed to bring it down, LRT reported Wednesday. Residents in several regions received air-raid warnings.

Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said Belarusian officials reported at 22:47 that unidentified objects were heading towards Lithuania and that Belarus was trying to neutralise them. Lithuanian radar initially detected objects that turned towards Latvia and Russia, but one drone entered Lithuanian airspace near Druskininkai at about 23:00.

According to Kaunas, the drone spent about five minutes in Lithuanian airspace, crossed into Poland in the direction of the Suwalki Corridor, then turned back over Lithuania. National Crisis Management Centre head Vilmantas Vitkauskas said it travelled north through the Marijampolė, Kaunas and Panevėžys regions before leaving Lithuanian airspace near Pasvalys.

Fighter jets tracked the drone and attempted to shoot it down near Biržai, but were unsuccessful. Vitkauskas said poor weather or concerns about the safety of firing over the area could have been factors. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said fragments of a missile fired by a fighter jet were found near Biržai.

Air-raid warnings were issued in parts of southern, central and northern Lithuania and were lifted nationwide at about 02:30. Vitkauskas said three drones detected in Belarus during an earlier alert did not enter Lithuania. Latvia and Estonia also warned residents of a drone threat, and the crisis centre had received a warning about possible balloons before the air alerts.