Drone crosses into Lithuania from Poland and explodes; debris strikes a moving car
An unidentified drone flew into northern Lithuania from Poland on Sunday morning and exploded, scattering debris that damaged a civilian car. No one was hurt, but the incident triggered air alerts, closed Kaunas airport and sent NATO jets into the air.
Lithuania is investigating how an unidentified flying object, believed to be a drone, crossed its airspace on Sunday morning before blowing up over the north of the country. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told reporters the object appears to have entered from Poland, and said he had already called his Polish counterpart to propose a joint investigation. The Polish military said separately that it was looking into a possible violation of its own airspace, and police in eastern Poland launched a search after reports of an unidentified object.
Small fragments thought to come from the drone were found near the village of Juodžionys, close to the border with Latvia. A driver travelling between Biržai and Pasvalys heard an explosion, and debris dented the door of the moving car, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said. Nobody was injured. Police cordoned off the area, and officials warned residents not to approach or touch any suspicious pieces and to report them to the emergency services. The main components of the object were still being searched for, and authorities have not yet said whether it carried explosives.
During the incursion Lithuania issued a red alert in the northern regions of Panevėžys and Šiauliai, telling people to take shelter, before lifting it later in the morning. Kaunas, the country's second-largest airport, was temporarily closed and NATO fighter jets were scrambled, but low cloud prevented the pilots from seeing the target and it was not shot down. Neighbouring Latvia also sounded alerts.
The head of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, told LRT Radio the object was most likely a Ukrainian drone that strayed off course while Kyiv was carrying out strikes in the St Petersburg region overnight. That assessment has not been formally confirmed. Kaunas called it "strange and unacceptable" that alerts were issued only in the north and ordered the military and the fire and rescue service to establish why warnings may not have reached everyone in time.
President Gitanas Nausėda said what appeared to be a drone had exploded over the north of the country, posing a danger to civilians, and warned that Russia's war against Ukraine is spilling over onto NATO's and the EU's eastern flank. The incident is the latest in a series of drone incursions along the alliance's eastern border, which has also seen Romanian F-16s shoot down two drones over the Black Sea on Saturday evening.