On Sunday, 18 October, Lithuania and Latvia issued air raid alerts over an unidentified object in their airspace. Fighter jets carrying out NATO’s air policing mission were deployed to track it.
This was reported by LRT.
In the morning, the Lithuanian military declared a red-level air raid alert in Šiauliai and Panevėžys counties due to an unidentified drone. Residents in these areas received warnings on their mobile phones.
Lithuania’s Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said NATO fighter jets were tracking the object in the Biržai district. However, due to difficult weather conditions, the pilots were unable to identify it visually.
“Due to difficult meteorological conditions, fighter pilots are currently unable to identify the object visually,” Kaunas wrote on Facebook.
Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre reported a flight ban at Kaunas Airport from 07:05 to 08:00. Later, the military said the object was moving towards Latvia.
After that, Latvia’s National Armed Forces issued an air raid alert in the municipalities of Bauska, Aizkraukle and Ogre. Residents received orange warnings on their mobile phones.
At 08:12, the air raid alert in Latvia was lifted. At around 08:10, Lithuania also reported that the air threat had been cancelled.
- On the night of 18 October, Russian forces launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 180 attack drones at Ukraine. Strikes were recorded at 20 locations.