The chief advisor to the president on national security, Deividas Matulionis, says that likely a Shahed-type drone entered Lithuanian airspace on Monday night, but it is still premature to confirm the information.
"Most likely a Shahed, possibly of another type," said Matulionis on Tuesday during a broadcast on Ziniu radijas.
"Both the Russians and the Ukrainians have drones of various types, so we cannot definitively state where this drone came from, where it was heading, and where it was going," he added.
As reported by the BNS agency, the drone, which is presumed to have flown in from Belarus, fell into Lake Lavis in the Varena district early Monday morning. The fallen object posed no threat to the safety of residents.
Debris and an internal combustion engine were found at the scene. Videos circulating on social media show and sound the explosion of the drone; eyewitnesses also confirm the explosion.
According to Matulionis, the investigation will need to determine whether the object fell in Lithuania accidentally, having deviated from its course, or if it was a deliberate provocation.
"I would not assert that this is a provocation from Belarus, but of course, we can never rule that out," noted the president's advisor.
According to him, the Belarusian side did not warn Lithuania about the approaching object.
Military radars did not detect the object crossing Lithuanian airspace.
Matulionis suggested that this happened due to the low altitude of the flight.
"We have always understood that our Achilles' heel and main problems are indeed related to low altitudes," he said.
Earlier, the BNS agency reported that last year, Russian Gerbera-type drones entered Lithuania twice, one of which was carrying explosives. Officials determined that those drones were headed for Ukraine but accidentally ended up in Lithuania after Ukrainian electronic warfare systems disrupted their course.
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