Political leaders in Lithuania were briefly taken to air raid shelters on Thursday, July 10, after an airspace violation near the border with Belarus, according to local media.
Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and Parliament Speaker Saulius Skvernelis were moved to safety as a precaution while authorities investigated the incident.
President Gitanas Nausėda was not in the country at the time, as he was on a trip to Ireland.
The alarm was triggered when an unidentified flying object was detected near the Belarusian border. The Lithuanian army confirmed in a Facebook post that the object was spotted at 11.30 a.m. local time.
Fighter jets already airborne as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission were redirected in response. The object later crashed about one kilometre from the Belarusian border.
At first, authorities suspected it could be an Iranian-made Shahed drone, like those used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine, according to the BNS news agency. But further investigation showed it was a makeshift unmanned aircraft, reportedly made of plywood and foam, and posed no threat.
Lithuania’s Border Guard Service (VSAT) noted that it often records attempts to smuggle contraband cigarettes from Belarus using balloons or improvised drones.