The search continues in Lithuania for the drone that triggered an air raid alert
On the morning of May 21, the search resumed in Lithuania for an unidentified drone that had triggered the country’s first major air raid alert the previous day and subsequently disappeared from radar.
This was reported by LRT.
The military temporarily suspended the operation overnight but resumed the search in the morning with additional resources, including a helicopter.
Lithuanian Armed Forces Commander Raimundas Vaikšnoras noted that citizen testimony could play an important role in determining the possible crash site.
“Testimonies from people, especially videos, if anyone has them, are very important to us… to try to determine the possible crash site,” he said.
According to preliminary data, the drone crossed the Lithuanian border around 9:40 a.m. and disappeared from radar screens around 11:09 a.m. near the town of Merkinė in the south of the country. It cannot be ruled out that it may have turned back toward Belarus or crashed on Lithuanian territory without being spotted by witnesses.
The incident occurred after a red air raid alert was declared in several regions of Lithuania the day before, and even government officials took shelter.
In Lithuania, local residents discovered a Ukrainian military unmanned aerial vehicle that had crashed in a field near the village of Semane in the Utena County in the northeast of the country.
In Lithuania, the drone that crashed in the north of the country the previous evening was equipped with an explosive device.
An air raid alert was declared in several border regions of Lithuania, as well as in the capital, Vilnius, due to an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle detected on radar.
Following a meeting of the National Security Commission on Wednesday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene announced the strengthening of security measures due to threats related to drones. According to her, municipalities will be required to ensure round-the-clock access to shelters for the public.
