Temporary closure of Vilnius airport in Lithuania due to drone alert

An alert for possible drones declared this morning in Lithuania has forced the closure of the airspace of the airport of the capital of the Baltic country, Vilnius, and the deployment of a NATO air patrol to identify the threat.

According to Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Center for Crisis Management (NKMC) of Lithuania, in a statement to the public broadcaster LRT, “the object has not yet been completely identified” and “combat aircraft that are carrying out that task” have been deployed.

Vitkauskas stated that, after being detected, the object disappeared from the surveillance area and no longer posed a threat, although the search for it continues. Hours later, other sources confirmed that they were unmanned aircraft from Belarus.

Belarus is one of Russia's closest collaborators in the war against Ukraine. The country hosts Russian missiles although its president, Alexander Lukashenko, insists they have no intention of actively participating in hostilities.