Lithuania Protests Belarus Over Drone Airspace Violations

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a representative of the Belarusian Embassy and handed him a note of protest over the violation ofLithuanian airspace by a drone.

LRT reported on this.

Vilnius is demanding that Minsk provide a full explanation of the circumstances surrounding the violation and take measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Lithuania also called on Belarus to maintain effective control over its territory and airspace and to prevent any actions that could threaten the security of neighboring countries.

The incident happened during the night of September 14–15, 2026. The Lithuanian military detected a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus.

Italian fighter jets, which are performing NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission and are based at the airbase in Šiauliai, shot down a drone near the Kruonis Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant.

After the drone was detected, Lithuanian authorities issued an air-raid alert for residents of the Vilnius and Kaunas areas.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said that once the investigation is completed and the drone’s exact origin is established, Lithuania will decide what further measures to take. Lithuania has also informed its allies about the incident and plans to consult with them on the security situation.

According to LRT, this is the first time Lithuanian military forces have shot down a drone in the country’s airspace. Similar incidents have previously been reported in Latvia and Estonia.

This was the second incident in two days involving a drone entering Lithuania from Belarusian territory. While this drone was intercepted by NATO fighter jets, a drone that flew into Lithuanian airspace on the night of September 13–14 could not be shot down.

At the time, an unidentified object flew from Belarus to Russia’s Kaliningrad Region through Lithuania, remaining in the airspace of the NATO country for about 20 minutes. It was later determined, based on the recorded flight data, that the intruder was an unmanned aerial vehicle.

The object flew 60–70 kilometers through Lithuanian airspace before heading toward Russia’s Kaliningrad Region. Lithuanian experts say one possible explanation is that the drone may have been used by smugglers.