On the morning of 18 October, a drone that had strayed into Lithuania crashed in the Pasvalys district and damaged a car travelling along the road. The driver was unharmed, according to Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre. This was reported by the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.
On Sunday morning, a red-level air raid alert – the highest level – was declared in the Panevėžys and Šiauliai districts due to a possible threat of a drone strike. Residents received alerts on their mobile phones urging them to take shelter.
Povilas Balčiūnas, the administrative director of the Pasvalys district, said that local authorities “had not received a specific order to open shelters”.
According to him, during the alert, people were advised to stay at home and take shelter in basements. If this was not possible, they should follow the ‘two-wall rule’ – staying behind two walls away from the outside environment.
Balčiūnas also reported that he himself had heard the sound of the drone. This occurred shortly before 7.30 am local time. The circumstances surrounding the drone’s crash and its origin have not been specified.
Earlier, on the night of 15 September, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone. Its wreckage was recovered. The scene has been cordoned off and secured; military personnel and police are working there.
Later, Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas stated that the drone had been flying from the direction of Belarus and that explosives had been found on board.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the drone shot down in Lithuania was “part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocations against Europe”. She added that the European Union would step up pressure on Moscow.