Lithuania's president and prime minister were forced to take shelter on Tuesday, when a drone alert prompted the capital Vilnius to come to a standstill.
President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were moved to emergency shelters following the air alert, which ordered the city's population to take cover.
Flights were suspended and road and rail travel briefly ground to a halt. The alert has since been lifted, but it remains unclear who was behind the incursion.
This incident closely followed Estonia's announcement that NATO had shot down a drone over its territory, suspected to be a Ukrainian projectile affected by Russian electronic interference.
In response to the drone sighting, Lithuania's national crisis management centre urged citizens: Immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations. The alert was raised as a precaution against a drone from neighbouring Belarus heading toward Lithuania.
Lithuania's military later indicated that NATO jets had been deployed to intercept the drone but were unable to locate it. Following the alert, local media reported an evacuation order issued at the Seimas, Lithuania's parliament, leading officials and staff to a basement shelter.
Earlier on Tuesday, Estonian officials revealed that a NATO fighter jet had downed a suspected Ukrainian drone, with no damage reported in the area.
Ukraine responded to the situation by accusing Moscow of intentionally redirecting drones aimed at legitimate military targets in Russia and expressed apologies to its Baltic neighbors.
Recent tensions have led to a series of drone incidents across NATO members in the Baltic region, highlighting ongoing regional instability amidst the conflict in Ukraine.
