Lithuanian President Nausėda: Baltic Sky No Longer Safe Due to Drone Incidents

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated that the airspace of the Baltic countries has become less safe due to an increase in drone incidents. He made this announcement during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of Latvia and Estonia, as quoted by Delfi.

During the meeting, discussions focused on security in the Baltic region, the protection of the EU's eastern border, strengthening air defense and anti-drone systems, safeguarding critical infrastructure, and developing the European defense industry. The parties also discussed support for Ukraine and the need to further increase sanctions pressure on Russia.

Nausėda emphasized that drone incidents last week in the airspace of Lithuania and other Baltic countries are a direct consequence of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He noted that these are not isolated provocations but part of a broader trend of hybrid threats. The Lithuanian President added that «today, the sky over the Baltic countries is no longer sufficiently safe» due to drone incursions, electronic jamming, information attacks, and sabotage threats.

Previously, on May 20, an air raid alert was declared in Lithuania due to a suspected drone entry that disappeared from radar. A few days prior, a Ukrainian UAV crashed in Lithuania. Lithuania is considering purchasing drones and low-altitude object detection systems from the Israeli company Elbit Systems.