Baltic States On High Alert After Drone Alert, Russian Threats

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

VILNIUS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Several European countries were on high alert Wednesday as Lithuania’s president and prime minister were rushed to underground bunkers and residents of the capital, Vilnius, urged to take shelter during a warning issued after a drone violated the country’s airspace. The turbulence came after Russia warned it could attack Baltic countries despite being part of the NATO military alliance, while Britain reported Russian Air Force activity dangerously close to its spy plane.

Air and train traffic in and around Vilnius was temporarily suspended after authorities issued a rare mobile phone “take shelter” warning, the first such alert in a European Union and NATO country since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Air raid alert! Go immediately to a shelter or a safe place, take care of your family members and wait for further instructions,” Lithuania’s Defence Ministry warned residents.

Schools moved children into designated shelters, while Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė were escorted to underground bunkers along with cabinet ministers and lawmakers.

The president of the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, accused Russia and its ally Belarus of responsibility for a growing number of EU and NATO airspace violations.

DRONE ALERT SHOCKS LITHUANIA

President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Russia’s public threats against our Baltic states are completely unacceptable. Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for drones endangering the lives and security of people on our eastern flank.”

Lithuanian officials said radar systems detected what appeared to be an unmanned aerial vehicle entering from Belarusian airspace. Authorities said it remained unclear whether the drone crashed or left Lithuanian territory.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said even if some drones originated from Ukraine, responsibility ultimately rested with Moscow because of what he called Russia’s “reckless, illegal, full-scale attack.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that the war could soon require “firm” action from NATO members.

The developments came amid growing concern over increased Russian military activity across Europe. Britain said Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to an unarmed Royal Air Force Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea last month.

NATO CONCERNS GROW

British Defence Secretary John Healey described the incidents as “dangerous and unacceptable,” saying one Russian jet passed within six metres of the RAF aircraft while another triggered its emergency systems during a NATO surveillance mission.

“It is another example of dangerous and unacceptable behaviour by Russian pilots towards an unarmed aircraft operating in international airspace,” Healey said.

British officials said it marked the most dangerous encounter involving a British Rivet Joint aircraft since a Russian jet fired a missile near a similar plane over the Black Sea in 2022.

The tensions have heightened fears within NATO that the war in Ukraine could increasingly spill beyond its borders, especially in the strategically sensitive Baltic region bordering Russia and Belarus.

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