VILNIUS, May 20 (Reuters) – Lithuania on Wednesday issued an ‘air danger’ warning urging people to take shelter and suspended traffic at the capital’s airport due to a drone violating the country’s airspace, the latest in a series of security incidents in the Baltic region.
The NATO and European Union member state suspended train traffic in the Vilnius region, while schools and kindergartens were told to take children to shelters during the incident, which lasted nearly an hour.
‘Take shelter immediately in a safe place, take care of your loved ones and await further recommendations,’ the Lithuanian Army said in a message sent to the population of the capital Vilnius.
Air and train traffic has since resumed, but air alerts were still in effect in some parts of the country.
An alert was also issued at the Vilnius Parliament building, where parliamentarians and ministers were present.
Speaking to Reuters in an underground shelter, Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said military aircraft were trying to neutralize the threat.
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‘The NATO Air Policing Mission is activated and is targeting a drone detected in Lithuanian airspace,’ Kaunas said.
A NATO fighter jet shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia on Tuesday, the Baltic country said.
Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone strikes against Russia, including around the Baltic Sea. Since March, several Ukrainian military drones have invaded the airspace of NATO members Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which border Russia.
Last week, the Latvian government resigned over its handling of the raids.
