In brief

• Lithuania's military says NATO fighter jets twice tried and failed to shoot down a drone that entered from Belarus.
• The drone was first spotted near Kaunas but was not targeted there because of the risk to people below.
• After leaving Lithuania, the drone was tracked into Latvia and later into Estonian and Russian airspace.

Two failed interception attempts

The drone entered Lithuanian airspace during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. Chief of the Defence Staff Rear Admiral Giedrius Premeneckas told reporters that air defence aircraft tried twice to destroy it while it flew north toward Panevėžys. Both attempts failed because of changing conditions, he said (Kariuomenė: droną bandyta numušti du kartus – Diena.lt) (В Литве истребители дважды пытались сбить беспилотник – Reform.news) (Kariuomenė: droną bandyta numušti du kartus, jis dingo Latvijos teritorijoje – Bernardinai.lt).

Why it was not shot down over Kaunas

The drone was first identified visually near Kaunas. Premeneckas said officials decided not to attempt destruction there because the area was urbanised and falling debris could cause damage. Weather and visibility later worsened, forcing fighter jets to make several passes before firing. One missile missed the target and exploded on its own, and its fragments fell in the Biržai district, where they were recovered (Kaunas: Lietuvos oro erdvę kirtęs dronas galėjo nukrypti nuo kurso dėl Rusijos elektroninės kovos priemonių – ve.lt).

Early warning from Belarus

Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said Belarusian authorities warned Lithuania at 22:47 that unidentified objects were heading its way, which they were trying to neutralise. Those objects did not enter Lithuanian airspace and turned toward Latvia and Russia, he said (Ministras: Baltarusija įspėjo apie Lietuvos link skrendančius galimai dronus – Diena.lt). After midnight another drone entered Lithuania for several minutes, flew briefly into Poland, returned to Lithuania and then crossed into Latvia („Neramiausia naktis“: naikintuvai droną bandė numušti du kartus, tačiau nepavyko – LRT). Red and yellow air danger alerts were issued in the regions along the route.

Drone tracked into Latvia and beyond

After leaving Lithuania, the drone was followed over Latvian territory, and the military said it had no further information about it. Lithuanian officials have not named the type of drone.

Read also

• Yellow air alert declared in Vilnius and Utena counties over unidentified object from Belarus