An air raid alert was declared in parts of Lithuania after a drone was detected, which was likely coming from Belarus. NATO fighter jets were scrambled to patrol the airspace.
This was reported by the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.
Due to the alert, authorities temporarily closed the airspace over Vilnius Airport.
According to the publication Delfi, residents of the Lithuanian capital took shelter. President Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister Rūgienė, Seimas Speaker Olekas, and members of parliament also took shelter.
Žygimantas Pavilionis, Vice Chair of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, reported on Facebook that the committee meeting continued in the shelter.
“The meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs is continuing in the shelter. As far as I understand, permission was granted to shoot down the drone; we are waiting for good news,” he wrote.
After the airspace was closed, two flights—SK744 and TK1407—were diverted to Riga. Planes heading to Vilnius initially circled over the Varenė and Jonava regions before being redirected to other airports. Lithuanian airports warned of possible flight delays throughout the day.
The alert was declared at 10:26 a.m., and around 11:00 a.m., residents received a message that the alert had been lifted. At 11:16 a.m., the airport in Vilnius resumed operations.
