Suspected Ukrainian military drone found crashed in Lithuania, authorities say
Incident Overview and Regional Response
By Andrius Sytas
Discovery of the Drone
TALLINN, May 17 (Reuters) - A suspected Ukrainian military drone was found crashed in Lithuania on Sunday, the Lithuanian government's National Crisis Management Centre said.
Details of the Crash
The drone was not detected when it entered Lithuania, and was not armed with explosives, the chief of the centre Vilmantas Vitkauskas told reporters.
The drone was found crashed at the village of Samane, the centre said, which is 40 kilometres from the Latvian border and 55 kilometers from Belarus.
Ukrainian Response
Kyiv has not yet commented on the issue.
Related Regional Drone Incidents
Latvian Border Alert
Separately, the Latvian army said a drone alert was issued on Sunday morning along its border with Russia, and NATO military fighters on a Baltic Air Police mission were summoned to the area.
One drone entered Latvia for a short time during the alert, the army said.
History of Stray Drones in the Baltics
Since March, several stray Ukrainian drones have entered the air space of NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia which border Russia and its ally Belarus.
Kyiv consistently said the stray drones were launched to strike military targets in Russia, but confused by Russian interference.
Notable Drone Incidents
Some of the drones crashed and exploded, including two drones which hit and caused fire at a Latvian oil storage facility on May 7.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina fired her defence minister after the incident, which then led to the fall of her government on May 14.
Baltic States' Official Position
The Baltic states said in April they have never allowed their territories and airspace to be used for drone attacks against targets in Russia.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas and Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Chizu Nomiyama)
