Drone Debris, Likely Ukrainian, Found in Lithuania on May 17

On the evening of May 17, drone debris was discovered in Lithuania, prompting an investigation into its origin and trajectory. This information was reported by LRT, citing «European Pravda».

The National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) announced that on May 17 at 19:14, a report was received about a crashed drone found in a field in the village of Samanė, Utena district. NKVC Director Vilmantas Vitkauskas stated at a press conference that evening that the crashed device was likely a military-grade drone. He added that there were no visible signs of an explosion, and it was currently difficult to determine if the drone was armed.

According to preliminary NKVC information, there is a high probability that the drone is Ukrainian, although the mechanism of its entry into Lithuanian territory remains unclear. Vitkauskas emphasized: «Based on the initial signs, what we see on the debris, what our colleagues sent, most likely, it is a Ukrainian drone.» He also reported that data collected on May 18 would allow for precise identification of the drone type. The search for debris, suspended overnight, resumed in the morning.

Vitkauskas highlighted the importance of answering key questions: «How did the drone get to Lithuania, at what altitude did it fly, and what gaps are there in our detection capabilities?» This incident occurred amidst repeated instances of Ukrainian drones, en route to attack targets in Russia, entering the airspace of Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland in recent weeks. On the morning of May 17, the Latvian National Armed Forces warned of a potential threat in areas bordering Russia due to an unknown drone's appearance, and Finnish police that same day conducted searches for a drone in the municipality of Lemi, South Karelia, near the Russian border.