Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has called Wednesday's air raid alert in Vilnius, triggered by an alleged drone threat, an "important lesson" for citizens and institutions in dealing with security risks.
"We must memorize it well," the president told Lithuanian television late on Wednesday.
Nausėda called on the population to take warnings seriously and act responsibly. But there was no cause for overreaction or panic, he said.
Earlier in the day, residents of Vilnius were asked by the authorities to take shelter as a precaution following a drone-related incident in Lithuania, a member of the European Union and NATO. Nausėda and other senior officials were also taken to shelters for safety.
Airspace over the airport was temporarily closed and train services were suspended. The armed forces had previously informed the public of a possible threat posed by a drone in the east of the country.
According to Nausėda, the warning system functioned as intended. However, there were inconsistencies in the responses of various institutions, he said, while some emergency shelters were inaccessible.
Conclusions would need to be drawn from this, the president said. The likelihood of further drone incidents is increasing and would remain high, he noted.
Lithuania borders both Russia and Belarus and has experienced several drone-related incidents since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Vilnius lies around 30 kilometres from Belarus.
Nausėda pointed out that this was a consequence of the war and the rerouting of drones through electronic warfare. He stressed that Lithuania has not permitted anyone to use its airspace for drone attacks.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Lithuania, as well as Estonia and Latvia, of making their airspace available to Ukraine.
