VILNIUS, March 24 (Reuters) – A military drone that crashed in Lithuania came from Ukraine and was intended to attack Russian oil exports before going astray, the Baltic state’s government said on Tuesday.
Lithuania’s armed forces said on Monday that a suspected drone entered the country’s airspace and crashed into a snow-covered lake about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Belarusian border.
The Lithuanian government said it was part of a Ukrainian attack on the Primorye oil loading terminal, one of two major export facilities on Russia’s Baltic coast that was hit around the same time.
“This is not a local incident but part of a wider security situation. Russia’s aggression in Ukraine creates additional risks for the entire region,” Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene told a news conference on Tuesday.
NATO alliance member Lithuania is a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Lithuania last year asked NATO for more air defense systems after Belarusian military drones landed twice on Lithuanian territory in July 2025. Lithuanian intelligence services said earlier this month that two drones accidentally entered Lithuania.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas; Editing by Terje Solsvik)
