Reports emerged in Lithuania that a Ukrainian drone had crashed

The drone that crashed on Monday in Lithuania’s Varėna district was Ukrainian and was intended to strike a target in Russia.

This was stated by Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė.

“The drone that crossed our airspace and entered Varėna district was a Ukrainian drone, and it was connected to an operation the Ukrainians were carrying out that night against Russia,” the prime minister told reporters on Tuesday after a meeting of the National Security Commission.

“We can already say with confidence that it was a drone that had gone off course,” she added.

Inga Ruginienė made the statement after a drone that had entered Lithuanian airspace fell into Lake Lavysas in Varėna district on Monday morning. The object was not detected by the army’s radar systems.

According to the country’s defense system, the Ukrainian drone may have gone off course due to the effects of electronic warfare measures.

“The situation was responded to immediately, all prescribed procedures were activated, the area was secured, and the responsible services worked at the scene together with the army,” the prime minister said on Tuesday.

She urged people not to speculate about what exactly the object was, noting that the ongoing investigation would provide the answer.

“Speculation is already appearing in the public space about whether this could have been a so-called ‘Shahed’-type drone or another object, but so far such assumptions have not been confirmed, so it would be irresponsible to speculate,” Ruginienė stressed.

“I also strongly urge the public not to spread unverified information, not to publish unverified video materials, but to immediately pass them on to the relevant services. (…) The services are acting actively according to established procedures, but in this process civil society also plays an important role by responding and promptly providing information,” the prime minister added.

The head of government stressed that this is not a local incident, but “part of a broader security reality,” in which additional risks for the region and the increasing difficulty of predicting such events are being created by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

“That is why the state is consistently strengthening its air defense, detection, and response capabilities, and will continue to strengthen them further — faster, more precisely, and with even greater attention to preventing threats of this kind,” Ruginienė said.