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.
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