Lithuania was placed on high alert on Wednesday after authorities issued a warning urging citizens to seek shelter and temporarily suspended operations at Vilnius Airport, following reports of a suspected drone allegedly heading from Belarus toward the country.
According to Reuters, the Lithuanian military sent a message to residents of the capital Vilnius, urging them to immediately move to a safe location and await further instructions from the authorities. “Seek immediate shelter in a safe place, take care of your loved ones and wait for further guidance,” the message stated, although it has not been clarified how widely it was distributed among the population.
At the same time, a similar warning was broadcast inside Lithuania’s parliament, with an announcement via the internal communication system instructing those inside the building to move to the nearest shelters due to a “risk of air attack.”
The country’s National Crisis Management Centre had earlier announced that it issued the alert after detecting a drone in neighboring Belarus that was reportedly heading toward Lithuanian airspace. Authorities clarified, however, that the origin of the unmanned aerial vehicle has not yet been confirmed.
As part of the security measures, operations at Vilnius Airport were also temporarily suspended, while security services and the military remained on alert.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Baltic region and a series of airspace violations, alongside frequent Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets. Just one day earlier, a NATO fighter jet reportedly shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia, according to authorities in the Baltic country, increasing concerns over regional security.
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