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Air raid alert in Lithuania as NATO jets respond to another drone incursion
May 21, Pozirk. Lithuanian authorities have declared a red-level alert in the Utena district and the city of Visaginas in the northern part of the country due to a drone threat, Delfi reports, citing the National Crisis Management Center.
NATO fighter jets are heading toward a possible target, the Lithuanian defense ministry said in a Facebook post. The Lithuanian military is currently monitoring the movement of an “object exhibiting drone characteristics” moving north of Pabradė. The origin of the object has not been confirmed.
Two drones may have violated Lithuania’s airspace, President Gitanas Nausėda said on Facebook, citing preliminary information. NATO fighter jets are prepared to destroy them, he added.
Following a similar incident yesterday, Vilnius also requested assistance of NATO fighter jets, issued an air raid alert for Vilnius County and temporarily restricted air traffic over Vilnius International Airport.
Minsk warned Vilnius of a possible drone heading toward Lithuania, LRT reported, citing Nerijus Stankevičius, commander of the Lithuanian Army’s Land Forces.
Moscow accuses the Baltic states of allowing Ukraine to use their “air corridors” to strike targets inside Russia — a claim denied by Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said on May 19 that the Kremlin was spreading disinformation to intimidate its Baltic neighbors.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow considers operations “to the south and north of Belarus – either against Ukraine’s Chernihiv–Kyiv region or against one of the NATO countries.”
A few days later, the Belarusian defense ministry announced the launch of a drill in which Belarus and Russia would rehearse the delivery of nuclear munitions and preparations for their use.
In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities supported the Kremlin, allowing Russian troops to attack Ukraine from Belarus on multiple occasions and supplying arms to Moscow.
Lithuania scrambles fighter jets after detecting drone approaching from Belarus
May 20, Pozirk. Lithuania scrambled NATO fighter jets, issued an air raid alert for Vilnius County and temporarily restricted air traffic over Vilnius International Airport this morning after radar systems detected what appeared to be a drone approaching the border …
