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By Open Chronicle with agencies
Residents of Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, were ordered to seek shelter on Wednesday after suspected drone activity near the Belarusian border triggered one of the most serious security alerts in a NATO capital since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The emergency warning briefly shut down airspace over Vilnius Airport and forced senior Lithuanian officials, including President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, into secure locations as authorities assessed a potential aerial threat.
Lithuania’s military issued an emergency message urging people in the Vilnius region to “immediately head to a shelter or a safe place” after radar systems detected suspected drone activity originating from neighboring Belarus.
The alert lasted roughly an hour before authorities declared the immediate danger had passed.
The incident came only hours after a NATO fighter jet reportedly shot down a Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia, another sign of rising instability along the alliance’s eastern frontier.
Lithuanian authorities said no drone was ultimately confirmed inside the country’s airspace, but officials acknowledged the object may have been either a combat drone or a decoy designed to confuse military defense systems.
“Based on the parameters we observed, it is likely either a combat drone or a drone intended to lure defense systems,” said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center.
Belarus reportedly informed both Lithuania and Latvia about the potential drone movement shortly before the alert was issued.
The incident has intensified concerns across NATO’s eastern members, where repeated drone incursions and electronic warfare incidents linked to the war in Ukraine are creating fears of accidental escalation between Russia and the military alliance.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have all experienced rising tensions in recent months as drones connected to the conflict increasingly cross borders or crash inside NATO territory.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised the alliance’s response to the recent incidents, describing it as “calm, decisive and proportionate.”
For many residents in Vilnius, however, the alert exposed growing anxiety about the regional security situation.
Some residents described confusion and fear as warning messages appeared on phones and emergency sirens sounded across the city.
“I didn’t know what was happening or what we were supposed to do,” one Vilnius resident told local media after seeking shelter during the alert.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys accused Russia of deliberately attempting to destabilize the Baltic region through electronic warfare and psychological pressure.
“Russia is deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones into Baltic airspace while conducting smear campaigns against Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia,” Budrys said.
The incident unfolded as Russia and Ukraine continue exchanging large-scale drone attacks almost nightly. Ukraine said it intercepted more than 130 Russian drones overnight, while Kyiv also continued strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure.
Security officials across Eastern Europe increasingly warn that the growing number of drone incidents near NATO borders raises the risk of miscalculation or unintended confrontation involving alliance members.
The latest alert in Vilnius is likely to intensify discussions within NATO over air defense coordination, electronic warfare capabilities, and civilian preparedness in frontline member states bordering Russia and Belarus.