BALTICS — On October 18, an unidentified object, possibly an unmanned aerial vehicle, entered Lithuanian airspace between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. local time.
It triggered red air alerts in Panevėžys and Šiauliai counties, a brief closure of Kaunas Airport, and the scramble of NATO Baltic Air Policing fighter jets that tracked the object but did not engage it, according to the Latvian National Armed Forces and Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center statements.
Debris consistent with a possible drone was later recovered near Juodzionys village in Pasvalys district near the Latvian border.
Latvian authorities activated then lifted a cell-broadcast alert in Bauska, Aizkraukle, and Ogre municipalities citing a possible threat of entry.
The Lithuanian Defense Ministry assessed the object likely entered from Polish territory.
Separately, on October 17, Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft conducting air policing missions shot down two drones over Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea after they entered national airspace without authorization.
Polish authorities continued verification of a possible overnight airspace violation near Lublin by an unidentified object, with no confirmation issued and search operations ongoing involving ground teams and a helicopter.
Poland’s Operational Command separately stated that preventive air operations related to Russian strikes on Ukraine had concluded with no observed violation of Polish airspace.
