Lithuania shuts airport, issues ‘air danger’ warning amid fear of drones

Lithuania on Wednesday issued an “air danger” warning asking people to take shelter and suspended traffic at the capital’s airport amid fears of drones violating the country’s airspace.

“Immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations,” Lithuania’s army said in a message sent to people in the country’s capital.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

It was not immediately clear how widely the statement was distributed.

A warning was also issued in the Vilnius parliament building.

“Due to the risk of air attack, we ask all persons in the building to go to the
nearest shelter,” said an announcement on parliament’s intercom.

Lithuania’s national crisis management center earlier said it had issued an alert in response to a drone in neighboring Belarus that was seen flying towards Lithuania, adding the drone’s origin had not been confirmed.

A NATO fighter jet on Tuesday shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia, the Baltic country said, the latest in a series of airspace violations in the region amid frequent Ukrainian attacks on neighboring Russia.

Read more:

Estonia says NATO shoots down suspected Ukrainian drone

Two Russian drones crash in Latvia