Lithuania on Wednesday issued an “air danger” warning urging residents to seek shelter and temporarily suspended operations at the capital’s airport amid fears that drones had entered the country’s airspace, as tensions between Russia and the Baltic states continue to escalate.
“Immediately take shelter in a safe place, look after your loved ones and await further recommendations,” Lithuania’s army said in a message sent to residents in the capital.
It was not immediately clear how widely the alert had been distributed. A similar warning was also issued inside the parliament building in Vilnius.
“Due to the risk of an air attack, we ask all persons in the building to proceed to the nearest shelter,” an announcement over parliament’s intercom said.
Lithuania’s national crisis management centre earlier stated that the alert had been triggered after a drone spotted in neighbouring Belarus was seen heading towards Lithuania, though officials said the drone’s origin had not yet been confirmed.
Lithuania Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said that the drone flew to Lentvaris near Vilnius, headed towards a different direction being pursued by NATO military jets.
The incident comes amidst heightened tensions in the Baltic region after Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, warned that Moscow could retaliate against Baltic states if Ukraine launched military drones from their territory.
Speaking during a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Nebenzya claimed Russia had intelligence suggesting Ukraine planned to operate drones from Latvia and other Baltic countries.
“The coordinates of decision-making centres in Latvia are well known, and membership in NATO will not protect you from retaliation,” he said.
Latvia strongly rejected the accusations, with the country’s envoy to the Security Council, Sanita Pavluta-Deslandes, calling the claims “pure fiction”. Latvia’s Foreign Ministry later summoned the acting head of Russia’s diplomatic mission to issue what it described as a “categorical protest”.
The ministry said Latvia had repeatedly informed Moscow that it had not allowed its territory or airspace to be used for attacks against Russia.
The diplomatic dispute follows a series of recent drone-related incidents across the Baltic region. Latvia issued air threat alerts on Tuesday over concerns that a drone may have entered its airspace near the Russian border, prompting NATO Baltic Air Police fighter jets to scramble, though authorities later said no evidence of an airspace violation had been found.
On Tuesday, a NATO fighter jet also shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia, according to Estonian authorities, marking the latest in a string of airspace incidents involving countries bordering Russia and Belarus since the start of the conflict in 2022.
U.S. Donald Trump has said he has cancelled planned strikes on Iranian oil and gas ports announced earlier on Thursday. Trump said he made the decisio...
Britain's Defence Minister, John Healey, and Armed Forces Minister, Al Carns, have resigned from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over a...
Spanish football club Real Madrid has appointed José Mourinho as its new manager. The 63-year-old nicknamed “the special one” returns to the hel...
Pakistan says it has killed 26 militants in strikes on terrorist hideouts along the Afghan border, marking the most significant escalation between the...
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has found that xAI’s Grok chatbot and its parent company X Corp. violated federal privacy law by launching an AI ima...
U.S. Donald Trump has said he has cancelled planned strikes on Iranian oil and gas ports announced earlier on Thursday. Trump said he made the decision after senior leadership in Iran agreed to peace talks.
Britain's Defence Minister, John Healey, and Armed Forces Minister, Al Carns, have resigned from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over a disagreement about defence spending.
Spanish football club Real Madrid has appointed José Mourinho as its new manager. The 63-year-old nicknamed “the special one” returns to the helm of Spain’s most successful football club, more than a decade since his last stint as the team's manager.
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has found that xAI’s Grok chatbot and its parent company X Corp. violated federal privacy law by launching an AI image-generation tool without adequate safeguards, enabling the creation and distribution of non-consensual sexualised deepfakes.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says 19 citizens have been repatriated following a deadly drone attack on two cargo ships in the Sea of Azov on 5 June.
The Pakistani city of Karachi is struggling under severe heat and humidity as the country enters a prolonged heatwave period. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned of above-normal temperatures across much of the country between 7 and 12 June.
Ukraine's military said it struck a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker in the Black Sea as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Moscow's energy and logistics networks. The move underscores Kyiv's focus on targeting maritime assets it says are used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil exports.
U.S. forces say they have completed strikes on Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on an American base in Jordan, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between the two sides.
More than a third of Belgium’s population now has a foreign background, according to new figures released by the national statistics office, Statbel. The data show that around 4.34 million of the country’s nearly 11.7 million residents do not have an entirely Belgian background.
Fuel stations across the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula ran dry on Thursday as Ukraine stepped up attacks on supply routes to the region.
Britain's Defence Minister, John Healey, and Armed Forces Minister, Al Carns, have resigned from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over a disagreement about defence spending.
Spanish football club Real Madrid has appointed José Mourinho as its new manager. The 63-year-old nicknamed “the special one” returns to the helm of Spain’s most successful football club, more than a decade since his last stint as the team's manager.
Pakistan says it has killed 26 militants in strikes on terrorist hideouts along the Afghan border, marking the most significant escalation between the neighbouring countries since a China-brokered diplomatic effort helped ease tensions earlier this year.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment