Explosives found near suspected crashed Ukrainian drone in Lithuania, authorities say
Incident Overview and Regional Security Implications
By Andrius Sytas
Discovery of Explosives and Drone Debris
VILNIUS, May 18 (Reuters) - Explosives were found on Monday near the debris of a suspected Ukrainian military drone that crashed in Lithuania and will be disposed of through an explosion at the scene as the materials are too dangerous to remove, Lithuanian police said.
Details of the Crash
The drone was not detected when it entered Lithuania, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, chief of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, told reporters on Sunday.
It was found crashed in the village of Samane, the centre said, which is 40 km (25 miles) from the Latvian border and 55 km from Belarus.
Kyiv has not yet commented on the issue.
Regional Drone Alerts and NATO Response
Separately, the Latvian army said a drone alert was issued on Sunday morning along its border with Russia.
One drone entered Latvia for a short time during the alert, the army said.
NATO Involvement
NATO military fighters on a Baltic Air Police mission were summoned on Sunday to intercept a "possibly unmanned aircraft" in Latvia, and to search for a drone in Lithuanian airspace, the Lithuanian army said on Monday.
Background: Stray Drones in the Baltics
Since March, several stray Ukrainian drones have entered the airspace of NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia which border Russia and its ally Belarus.
Ukrainian Response and Drone Incidents
Kyiv consistently said the stray drones were launched to strike military targets in Russia, but were confused by Russian interference.
Some of the drones crashed and exploded, including two drones which hit and caused fire at a Latvian oil storage facility on May 7.
Political Fallout in Latvia
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' Position on Drone Attacks
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, Chizu Nomiyama and Sharon Singleton)
