Lithuania has never allowed and will never allow third countries to use its airspace for drone operations, presidential adviser Asta Skaisgirytė said Tuesday after a series of incidents involving Ukrainian drones in the Baltic region.
“In recent times, various incidents have occurred when drones deviate from their trajectory and crash [...] in Finland, there have been such cases in Latvia, and there have been cases in Lithuania,” Skaisgirytė told the radio Žinių Radijas.
“We must bear in mind that all sides in war use certain electronic warfare measures that can redirect drones from their trajectory, and then various incidents may happen,” she said.
“Lithuania has never granted and will never grant its airspace for third-country drones to fly through. This must be clearly understood. Sometimes, when jamming occurs, there is also the possibility of incidents. We simply need to remain vigilant,” the adviser added.
Skaisgirytė stressed she was referring not only to Ukrainian drones but also to “various third countries, not necessarily Ukraine”.
In recent months, a string of airspace violations has been recorded near the Baltic states’ borders. Since January, Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil export facilities on the Baltic Sea coast, while several drones have landed in the Baltic states, Poland and Finland, reportedly due to Russian electronic interference.
Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv was considering sending Ukrainian experts to the region.
Latvian officials have suggested that Ukrainian operators could alter drone flight paths or activate self-destruct mechanisms if drones enter Baltic airspace.
On Monday, after meeting visiting Ukrainian presidential administration chief Kyrylo Budanov in Lithuania, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said Lithuania would invite Ukrainian specialists to advise on countering incoming drones.
“Cooperation on drones would be very important, and both Minister Kaunas and previous defence ministers have discussed this with their Ukrainian counterparts. I believe these talks have been ongoing since last year,” Skaisgirytė said.
According to the presidential adviser, Lithuania also plans to expand cooperation in manufacturing Ukrainian drones domestically.
“One thing is simply buying drones, but another is transferring technologies to Lithuania and producing them here. In our view, the second option is much more beneficial for Lithuania’s defence industry,” she said.
“Then we can produce as many as we need for ourselves, manufacture them for Ukraine, and perhaps also for other allies,” Skaisgirytė added.
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