Lithuania: The air alarm in the Vilnius district was canceled. NATO fighters picked up due to the facility

The National Crisis Management Center (NKVC) announced on Saturday morning that the air alert for the Vilnius and Vilnius districts was canceled after about 40 minutes due to a potential drone threat.

No air threat

The lack of an air threat has been confirmed, as the object does not pose a threat. I cannot say at the moment whether they were birds or another object, said NKVC head Vilmantas Vitkauskas on LRT public radio.

The big news is that the air alert has been canceled; people can return to their usual activities, he added.

The airport is operational again

Vilnius airport has resumed operations, although flight delays or cancellations are possible.

Earlier, Vitkauskas reported that NKVC received signals from residents who saw an unidentified object moving from the vicinity of Vilnius towards Janów in the central part of the country. NKVC told journalists that the object probably came from Belarus.

In response to the potential threat, NATO fighters were deployed and the operation of the Vilnius airport was suspended. Authorities advised residents to check the nearest place of refuge and wait for further information.

Due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, in recent months, announcements about a potential air threat have been announced in Lithuania.

In September, a drone was shot down over Lithuanian territory for the first time, violating the country's airspace. Previously, this happened in Latvia and Estonia.