Lithuania scrambles fighter jets after detecting drone approaching from Belarus

May 20, Pozirk. Lithuania scrambled NATO fighter jets, issued an air raid alert for Vilnius County and temporarily restricted air traffic over Vilnius International Airport this morning after radar systems detected what appeared to be a drone approaching the border from Belarus, Delfi reported.

Residents were advised to take shelter. According to reports, the Lithuanian president, prime minister and speaker of parliament also took shelter.

A yellow emergency alert — indicating a potential air attack — was sent to residents of the Ignalina, Utena, Švenčionys, and Zarasai districts, as well as Vilnius, according to the National Crisis Management Center.

The incident came a day after a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone over Estonia. Estonian authorities suspect it was a Ukrainian projectile that had been knocked off course by Russian electronic jamming.

Last week, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa resigned following a political crisis sparked by Russia-bound Ukrainian drones straying into Latvian territory.

Earlier this month, two Ukrainian drones struck an empty oil storage facility in Latvia. Ukraine said the incident was caused by Russian electronic jamming.

A similar incursion was reported in Estonia and Latvia in March.

Moscow has accused the three Baltic states of allowing Ukraine to use their “air corridors” to strike targets inside Russia — a claim denied by Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said on May 19 that the Kremlin was spreading disinformation to intimidate its Baltic neighbors.