The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday handed a protest note to the Belarusian chargé d’affaires over the violation of Lithuanian airspace by a Gerbera drone last week.
“A strong protest was expressed over the unlawful entry of a Russian-made Gerbera multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle into Lithuanian airspace from Belarus on July 10 this year,” the ministry said on its Facebook page.
The drone, which was unarmed, crashed on Lithuanian territory about a kilometre from the border.
The ministry demanded that Belarus “provide an explanation for this incident as soon as possible and take all necessary measures to prevent such incidents from recurring”.
“We received an explanation that they will send something to the capital. I don’t know what that will be, but our message is that this is serious,” Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told LRT TV on Wednesday evening.
Incident linked to Ukrainian anti-drone systems
Budrys linked the incursion to Ukraine’s use of anti-drone systems, suggesting that as Russia ramps up its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, similar incidents in Lithuania may become more frequent.
“Yes, this is likely linked to an attack on Ukraine, when one of the drones used in a swarm during the attack flew as far as our territory,” the minister told LRT TV.
“What’s important is that this time it was a decoy. Next time, it might not be. That’s why the situation is serious – and it was discussed last week by the National Security Commission,” he added.
Budrys explained that Ukraine uses electronic warfare systems to divert incoming Russian drones, some of which end up flying into Belarusian territory, and “some also reach our borders due to the intensity of fighting”.
“For our part, we need to strengthen our anti-drone capabilities and cooperate with the Ukrainians,” he said, insisting that Belarus was responsibility for failing to control drones crossing its airspace.
The unmanned aerial vehicle crashed last Thursday near the closed Šumskas border checkpoint. According to the military, the drone remained in Lithuanian airspace for about three minutes before crashing.
Authorities initially suspected the aircraft was a Shahed drone – the type Russia uses in its war in Ukraine – but Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė later confirmed on LRT RADIO that it was a Russian-made Gerbera.
Arūnas Kumpis, a Lithuanian volunteer who fought in Ukraine, told LRT that Gerbera was originally developed as a decoy to mimic Shahed drones, but it can also be used for strikes and electronic warfare.
The defence minister also said last week that there was no evidence the drone was intentionally directed into Lithuanian territory.
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