An air alert was declared on Thursday afternoon in Lithuania’s northeastern Utena district bordering Belarus and Latvia due to potential drones entering the country's airspace. The threat level was later changed to "yellow", meaning the imminent threat level had subsided, before being lifted at around 18:00 local time.
The radar signatures showed objects "moving north from Pabradė" some 50 km north of Vilnius, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the country's National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), told LRT RADIO.
The objects most likely entered from Belarus, and "there could be two drones", he added.
Later on Thursday, the objects disappeared from radars, with the threat level being downgraded to "yellow" before being lifted completely.
"An Air Force helicopter is heading to the location where the objects disappeared from radar to inspect the area," the military said.
Further reading
Air raid sirens rang out in the affected areas, with residents being told to proceed to shelters until further announcements.
NATO jets stationed in the Baltic states as part of the air policing mission were activated, authorities said.
A similar air alert was issued in Lithuania on Wednesday when a drone was detected potentially entering the country's airspace.
Drone incidents have recently been recorded in Lithuania, other Baltic states, and Finland.
Lithuanian Railways halts several trains
Two trains were halted at Dūkštas station in Lithuania’s Ignalina district on Thursday, with passengers evacuated to safety, Lithuanian Railways said.
Three routes have been affected so far: Turmantas–Vilnius, Vilnius–Turmantas, and Ignalina–Vilnius, impacting approximately 180 passengers.
One train was stopped in Naujoji Vilnia, stopping it from entering the designated danger zone.
Updated to follow.
