Unprecedented аir аlert in Vilnius as residents told to seek shelter during drone scare

Lithuania declared an air alert on Wednesday after a suspected drone entered its airspace from neighbouring Belarus, prompting NATO fighter jets to scramble and authorities to urge residents to seek shelter.

Air raid sirens sounded in parts of the country, including the capital Vilnius, while air traffic at Vilnius Airport was temporarily suspended. Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas confirmed that an unidentified object had entered Lithuanian airspace.

According to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission was activated after surveillance radars detected an object displaying “drone-like characteristics” approaching the Lithuanian border. The object was first tracked over the Ignalina district at around 09:40 local time before reportedly heading towards Vilnius and later changing course. Ignalina is home to a decommissioned nuclear power station.

“NATO fighter jets are pursuing the object,” Lithuanian authorities said, adding that the drone was initially seen flying towards Lentvaris, near Vilnius, before diverting in another direction.

The Lithuanian military issued an emergency message to residents of the capital, urging them to “immediately seek shelter, take care of relatives and wait for further instructions”. It remained unclear whether the warning applied to the entire city or only specific districts.

An alert was also announced inside the Lithuanian parliament building in Vilnius.

“Due to the risk of an air attack, all persons in the building are requested to proceed to the nearest shelter,” a message broadcast over the parliament’s internal public address system said.

The National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) said the alarm was triggered after a drone flying from Belarus towards Lithuanian airspace was detected, although officials stressed that the origin and nature of the unmanned aircraft had not yet been confirmed.

Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the NKVC, described the incident as “two restless hours” for Lithuania.

“All events began after we received a signal from our Latvian counterparts that a yellow air alert had been declared in the Daugavpils region,” Vitkauskas told a government press conference.

He explained that a “yellow air danger” warning indicates the presence of a potentially military object in the airspace that could threaten civilians or infrastructure.

“After receiving this signal, our military radars captured an approaching object near the Lithuanian border. It was detected in the Ignalina district and crossed the border at approximately 09:40,” he said.

Authorities initially issued warnings to residents in the Ignalina district before expanding the alert to Utena, Švenčionys and Zarasai districts, and later to Vilnius county as the object appeared to be heading towards the capital.

According to Vitkauskas, the object disappeared from radar screens at 11:09 local time.

“Whether the drone changed direction and entered another state, or whether it crashed, we cannot yet say. We are awaiting further information from the military,” he said.

He added that no major panic had been recorded during the incident, although some institutions lacked clear emergency procedures.

“There were isolated cases where schools and other institutions were uncertain about what to do with pupils or staff. We will make every effort to minimise such uncertainty in the future,” Vitkauskas said.

The incident comes a day after an unidentified drone believed to be Ukrainian was shot down over Estonia by a NATO fighter jet, according to authorities in Tallinn. The Baltic states have faced a series of airspace violations in recent months amid intensified Ukrainian drone attacks against targets inside Russia.