The key facts
- NATO fighters tracked an object in Lithuania's Biržai district; weather prevented visual identification
- The Latvian army said the object was likely not shot down and may have 'detonated on its own'
- The day before, Romania downed two Geran drones over the Black Sea
Incident near the Latvian border
On Sunday morning, fighters carrying out NATO's air policing mission tracked an unidentified flying object — believed to be a drone — in the Biržai district in northern Lithuania, near the Latvian border. Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas reported this. According to him, due to difficult weather conditions, the pilots could not visually identify the object. The incident triggered several air alerts.
The object's fate is unclear
The Latvian armed forces reported that, apparently, the fighters 'did not shoot down the suspected drone' and that it may have 'detonated on its own.' The object's origin remains unclear. An investigation is underway: Lithuanian military personnel headed to the location where the radio signal was lost for a ground inspection.
Downing of drones over the Black Sea
The incident occurred against the backdrop of a series of airspace violations along NATO's eastern flank, many of which are believed to be linked to Russia's war in Ukraine. On Saturday, Romania announced that its F-16s shot down two drones over the Black Sea after radars detected several aerial targets, which the Defence Ministry called 'jet-powered strike drones of the Geran family.' Defence Minister Radu Miruță said the first drone entered the airspace at around 17:59 and was shot down 'within two minutes' 25 km southeast of Sulina; the second was shot down at 18:05, five minutes after entering, 20 km east of Sulina.
