The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, stated that the air alert declared due to a possible drone was an important test of the country's readiness for new threats. He acknowledged that some institutions reacted unacceptably.
The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, called the air alert declared on Wednesday due to the threat of a drone a 'good lesson' for government services and the residents of the country.
According to the head of state, the incident demonstrated how important it is to be prepared for such situations amid the growing number of drones in the region.
"We must learn this lesson very well," Nausėda stated on the air of the LRT television channel.
Lithuanian authorities reported that in the morning, Latvia and Lithuania received information from the Belarusian military about drones that could be moving toward their territories.
Initially, the suspected drone was spotted near Daugavpils, then it allegedly crossed into Lithuania and approached Vilnius. After that, an air alert was declared in Vilnius County. Residents were urged to go to shelters.
Nausėda noted that the alert system itself worked effectively, but the response of certain institutions raised serious questions.
The president particularly criticized some schools and educational institutions that suggested parents pick up their children instead of following safety instructions. He described such actions as 'catastrophically irresponsible.' The president also deemed it unacceptable that some shelters were closed during the alert.
Importantly, the current incident became one of the largest air alerts in the Baltic states in recent times — with airport operations being restricted, train services halted, and the country's leadership evacuated.
During the alert, NATO air policing mission fighter jets were scrambled. Two aircraft took off from the Amari airbase in Estonia — one headed to Lithuania, the other to Latvia.
According to Nausėda, the pilots escorted the suspected drone but did not open fire as they could not establish visual contact due to heavy cloud cover.
The president emphasized that such threats are likely to become a new reality for the region.
In recent months, the Baltic states have increasingly faced incidents involving drones. It is believed that some of them are Ukrainian drones diverted by Russian electronic warfare systems.
In this context, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys previously stated that the Kremlin might intentionally direct Ukrainian drones toward the Baltic states.
At the same time, Russia is also increasing its information pressure. On Tuesday, a Russian representative at the UN claimed that Moscow allegedly has information about the launch of Ukrainian drones from the territory of the Baltic states.
Nausėda rejected such accusations and urged not to succumb to provocations.
According to him, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Finland do not participate in operations against Russian territory and will not allow themselves to be intimidated.
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