Lithuania Sends Residents to Shelters as Unidentified Object Crosses Its Skies

Lithuania told residents in central and northern parts of the country to go to shelters for about an hour on Sunday morning, October 18, after an unidentified flying object entered its airspace, the army and the National Crisis Management Centre said, according to Reuters. A red air warning was issued in Siauliai and Panevezys counties and residents received phone alerts telling them to shelter, LRT reported. While the red warning was in effect, NATO air police fighters were summoned to the area and Kaunas airport was closed, the centre said, according to Reuters.

Fighters scrambled, but fog blocked a visual check

Radar operators detected a signal moving north from Poland and the operation began at about 6 a.m., Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said, according to LRT. NATO air policing fighters scrambled from Siauliai Air Base at 6:15 a.m. to identify the object. Kaunas said the object was tracked by Lithuanian radar and by the fighter jets, but fog and cloud prevented the pilots from seeing it clearly. In peacetime, he said, an object must also be identified visually before a decision can be made to destroy it, so Lithuania did not try to shoot it down. The radar signal later disappeared and the fighters returned to base. The alert was lifted across Lithuania at about 8 a.m.

Debris reported in Pasvalys

The National Crisis Management Centre reported possible drone debris in Pasvalys district and warned residents not to approach it LRT reported. Possible fragments of a drone were later found in Juodzioniai village in Pasvalys district, where Lithuanian troops were working, Kaunas said. He said the object was preliminarily assessed to have come from Polish territory, and police were checking reports that debris may have damaged a civilian car.

Poland and Latvia respond on the same morning

Poland said it was verifying a possible violation of its airspace by an unidentified object, and that so far there had been no confirmation of a violation, its army said, according to Reuters. The Polish army deployed a ground search and rescue team in the south of Lublin to search for a possible crash site. Northern neighbour Latvia issued and then dropped a yellow air warning in some regions bordering Lithuania during the same period, citing a possible threat, Latvia's army said, according to Reuters. LSM reported that residents in Bauska, Aizkraukle and Ogre municipalities in Latvia also received an airspace threat alert on Sunday. In a separate statement on Sunday, the Polish Air Force said it was conducting preventive operations related to Russian missile attacks on Ukraine, and airports in Lublin and Rzeszow suspended flight operations to give military aviation freedom to act, according to Reuters.

Minister criticises the alerts and asks Poland for a joint inquiry

Kaunas called it unacceptable that warnings about a possible drone incursion were sent only to residents in northern Lithuania, LRT reported. He said the military had been asked to set out a detailed timeline, and officials would ask the Fire and Rescue Department why alerts may not have been sent on time. He said he had contacted Poland's defence minister and requested a joint investigation.

Ukrainian drones have repeatedly entered NATO airspace in the Baltic region in recent months, and Kyiv has said they were steered off course by Russian signal jamming, Reuters reported. Officials had not established the type or origin of Sunday's object when the alert was lifted.