Lithuania on the morning of 3 October declared a yellow-level air alert over an unidentified airborne object that likely entered the country from Belarus.
This was reported by Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre, LRT writes.
Because of the incident, the airspace near Vilnius Airport was temporarily closed, and its operations were suspended. NATO fighter jets were scrambled.
The yellow-level alert was declared shortly before 10:00. Residents in the region received a warning on their mobile phones urging them to find a safe place.
At the same time, it was not possible to fully identify the airborne object. According to Vitkauskas, fighter jets took to the air and carried out the relevant procedures.
Services also received reports from residents who claimed to have seen the object outside Vilnius in the direction of Jonava. However, this information was not confirmed.
The air alert was cancelled at 10:37. According to the head of the NCMC, the object disappeared from the monitored area and no longer posed a threat. It is currently being searched for.
Vitkauskas noted that it is unknown whether it was a drone. He said certain parameters of the object indicated a speed somewhat lower than is typical for a UAV.
"If it fell, if it was a drone, it will have to be found. But it was not necessarily a drone", the head of the NCMC said.
The official also did not rule out that the recorded phenomenon could have been linked to an anomaly or bird migration.
Lithuanian services continue to determine the nature of the object and the circumstances of its appearance in the area of the capital.
- On the morning of 3 October, explosions were heard in four districts of Moldova. Police found debris from at least five drones.
- Moldovan President Maia Sandu confirmed that the country’s airspace was violated by five Russian aerial assets, including a "Banderol" missile.