Ukrainian drone found in Lithuania — LRT
In Lithuania, local residents discovered a Ukrainian military drone that had crashed in a field near the village of Semanė in Utena County in the northeast of the country.
This was reported by broadcaster LRT, citing official data from the Crisis Management Center.
According to available information, there was no explosion when the drone crashed, and emergency services and law enforcement agencies immediately began working at the scene.
Information about the discovery of the drone was received by Lithuanian authorities at approximately 7:00 p.m. local time on May 17.
Military experts promptly arrived at the specified location and conducted an initial examination of the debris to identify the object.
It was determined that the drone did not explode upon impact. A detailed examination is currently underway to determine the presence of a warhead and its current condition.
Of serious concern is the fact that the country’s air defense systems did not detect the aerial target crossing the state border.
According to the armed forces, Lithuanian radars did not detect the drone earlier that day. Its crash was reported by local residents.
Military command is investigating the technical reasons why the drone was able to pass undetected by radar systems.
Lithuanian officials plan to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and review the performance of defense systems along the border.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the Crisis Management Center, said that authorities intend to determine how the drone entered Lithuania, at what altitude it was flying, and “what gaps exist in our detection system.”
The data obtained will be used to strengthen control over the country’s airspace.
Officials and analysts are currently examining possible flight paths and the reasons for the drone losing control. It remains unclear how the drone entered Lithuanian airspace.
As LRT suggests, the drone may have veered off course due to Russian electronic warfare systems, as has happened in other similar cases.
The aggressor country’s electronic warfare systems regularly interfere with navigation throughout the Baltic region.
Lithuania has denied claims that its airspace was used to launch strikes against Russia
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense officially announced the purchase of new-generation Giraffe 1X radar stations from the Saab defense group.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda signed a law establishing a new military training ground in the Suvalkai Corridor and expanding another training site near the border with Russia. The decision is explained by the need to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities and contribute to NATO’s collective security.
