NATO jets scrambled after drone incursions trigger air alerts in Lithuania

NATO fighter jets were scrambled twice overnight after suspected drone incursions triggered air alerts across large parts of Lithuania, with at least one drone entering the country's airspace before flying into Latvia, officials said Wednesday, public broadcaster LRT reported.

The first yellow alert was issued in the Vilnius and Utena regions at around 11 pm Tuesday (2000GMT) and lifted shortly after midnight.

A second alert was later declared, initially in the Alytus region before being expanded to parts of central and northern Lithuania and upgraded to red, urging residents to seek shelter.

Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, said three drones had initially been detected in Belarus, but none entered Lithuanian airspace during the first incident. One later entered Latvia.

During the second incident, a drone was believed to have entered Lithuania from Belarus near the southern town of Druskininkai, before flying north across several regions and leaving the country's airspace near Pasvalys.

Vitkauskas said NATO fighter jets detected the object but did not shoot it down, possibly due to poor weather or safety concerns.

The incidents also disrupted air traffic, with Vilnius and Kaunas airports temporarily closing. Three flights at Vilnius Airport, affecting more than 400 passengers, were impacted, Vitkauskas said.

Latvia's National Armed Forces issued an airspace threat warning for several municipalities early Wednesday, activating drone interceptors, air defense units and NATO air policing jets.

The number of drones involved and whether any crashed or were shot down remained unclear.