Last Wednesday, Lithuania experienced two hours unlike any in its history. A suspected drone entered the country’s airspace, prompting authorities to declare an air alert for the first time in recent history and instruct people to seek shelter.
Political leaders and heads of responsible institutions said the incident served as a lesson on how to inform the public, ensure shelters and safe locations are not locked, and guarantee preparedness in schools, hospitals and other institutions.The government was also left with lessons to learn. Each time a drone entered the airspace, officials appeared to adapt to the situation on the fly.It also became clear that Lithuania is not yet prepared – at least for now – not only to neutralise drones, but even to track them across every part of its airspace.After drones began appearing in Latvia, it was only a matter of time before they reached Lithuania.The first one this month crashed in the northeastern Utena district exactly a week earlier. It took nearly a week before Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas confirmed the drone was Ukrainian. In that case, the radars had not detected it at all.The incident alarmed Lithuania and highlighted weaknesses in the system, something also stressed by President Gitanas Nausėda.“The president emphasised that the early warning system does not appear to be functioning properly,” said his chief adviser Deividas Matulionis.A bigger test came on Wednesday, when another drone entered Lithuanian airspace , prompting the authorities to declare an air alert.
