A drone believed to be Ukrainian and carrying explosive material crashed in eastern Lithuania on Sunday, prompting a controlled disposal operation, as the Baltic states face a growing number of stray UAV incidents raising fresh questions about regional air defence capabilities.
Drone wreckage found by local resident
The National Crisis Management Centre reported on Sunday evening that an unmanned aerial vehicle, presumed to be Ukrainian, had been discovered in the Utena district of eastern Lithuania. The wreckage was found by a local resident; the country’s air defence systems did not detect the drone.
“Officers from the Aras anti-terrorist operational unit of the police department confirmed the presence of explosive substances at the crash site. A decision was made to deactivate the explosives on site, as transporting them would pose a risk to the public,” the Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT reported, citing law enforcement authorities.
Defence minister admits surveillance failure
Lithuania’s air surveillance systems recorded no violations of the country’s airspace on the day of the incident, the defence minister, Robertas Kaunas, admitted on national radio LRT.
“We were unable to detect the drone using existing electronic tracking systems. We need time for the air force to integrate newly acquired radars and anti-drone systems into a single framework,” he said.
According to the defence minister, work to install the new equipment began several months ago. He added that detecting Ukrainian drones would remain a challenge even for the new technology, owing to their low altitude and high speed.
Oil terminal shut down after drone strike in Latvia
An oil terminal in the Latvian town of Rēzekne has been shut down following the crash of Ukrainian drones on its premises, local media reported.
The company said it had “suffered minor losses”, without adding that the attack had effectively forced the resignation of the prime minister, Evika Siliņa, and the defence minister, Andris Sprūds.
President Nausėda calls for shootdowns, but tensions persist
Earlier, the Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nausėda, described any use of the country’s airspace by a warring party as unacceptable and called on the armed forces to shoot down incoming drones. However, the airspace over the Baltic states has effectively been used to provoke Russia.
In recent months, Ukrainian drones aimed at Russian targets have repeatedly crashed in Latvia and Lithuania.
On the night of May 7, two drones crashed in Latvia, one of them on the territory of an oil terminal in Rēzekne. Local authorities said the drones had come from Russia. Russia’s defence ministry later said its air defence systems had detected military aircraft and six UAVs over Latvian airspace that night, after which the objects disappeared from radar. One drone was eventually shot down by Russian air defence forces near the settlement of Likhachevo, close to Pskov.
Political fallout: Defence chief and PM resign
Shortly after the incident, Latvia’s defence minister, Andris Sprūds, resigned. The prime minister, Evika Siliņa, criticised the defence ministry for the slow deployment of air defence systems and said the ministry had failed to deliver on its promise of a “safe sky” over the country.
Sprūds’ resignation – he represented the Progressive party in the coalition – triggered a split in the government. The Progressives withdrew their support for Prime Minister Siliņa, depriving the ruling coalition of its parliamentary majority. Consequently, Siliņa also announced her resignation, which, under Latvian law, led to the dissolution of the entire cabinet.
Latvia summons Russian diplomat over airspace incursion
Latvia’s foreign ministry summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires, Dmitry Kasatkin, and handed over a note of protest.
In a statement, the Latvian ministry said the war in Ukraine “creates risks of security incidents across the entire region”. The ministry specifically emphasised that Riga had not authorised the use of its airspace for strikes against targets on Russian territory.
