Lithuania's leaders take shelter during drone air alert

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Lithuania's leaders take shelter during drone air alert14 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleAoife WalshReutersLithuanian parliamentarians were sent to a shelter during the alertLithuania's president and prime minister were forced to take shelter on Tuesday, when a drone alert caused the capital Vilnius to come to a standstill. President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to emergency shelters following the air alert, which ordered the city's population to take cover. Flights were suspended and road and rail travel briefly ground to a halt.

The alert has since been lifted. It is not yet clear who was behind the incursion. It came a day after Estonia said Nato shot down a drone over its territory, which it suspected was a Ukrainian projectile knocked off course by Russian electronic interference.

The Details

Estonia says Nato jet shot down drone over its territoryIt was the latest in a series of recent drone incursions over Nato members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. An alert from Lithuania's defence ministry on Wednesday said: "Immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations. " Lithuania's national crisis management centre earlier said it had issued an alert in response to a drone in neighbouring Belarus that was seen flying towards Lithuania.

The drone's origin had not been confirmed, the centre added. Lithuania's military later said Nato jets had been deployed to shoot down the drone but could not locate it. An evacuation order was also issued at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, according to local media, with politicians and staff led down to a basement shelter.

On Tuesday, Estonian officials said a Nato fighter jet had shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone. No damage was reported. Ukraine responded by accusing Moscow of deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones launched at "legitimate military targets" in Russia and apologising to "Estonia and all of our Baltic friends for such unintended incidents".

What Experts Say

Last week, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned after a political crisis over Russia-bound Ukrainian drones straying into Latvian territory. Earlier this month, two Ukrainian drones hit an empty oil storage site in Latvia. Ukraine said this was the result of electronic jamming by Russia.

A similar incident was reported by Estonia and Latvia in March. Moscow has accused the three Baltic states of allowing Ukraine to use their "air corridors" to strike targets inside Russia - a claim which has been denied by Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Ukraine has recently intensified its drone and missile attacks against targets in Russia, including oil and gas facilities near the Baltic states.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.