Latvia and Lithuania declare air alerts after unidentified drone spotted in Baltic airspace

On the morning of Oct. 18, the Lithuanian military declared a red-level air alert in Šiauliai and Panevėžys counties after an unidentified drone was detected in the country's airspace.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said fighter jets conducting NATO's air policing mission were tracking the object in Biržai District.

"Due to difficult weather conditions, fighter pilots have not yet been able to visually identify the object," he wrote on Facebook.

The National Crisis Management Center (NCMC) said flights at Kaunas Airport were suspended from 7:05 a.m. to 8 a.m. because of the unidentified object.

The military later reported that the object was moving toward Latvia.

Latvia's National Armed Forces issued air alerts in the southern municipalities of Bauska, Aizkraukle and Ogre.

On Oct. 8, Lithuania's Interior Ministry announced plans to deploy military personnel to strengthen security along the country's border with Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast.

On July 4, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said his country intended to join NATO's collective nuclear deterrence system. He said a proposed constitutional amendment would remove "the existing restriction on the possible use of nuclear weapons in Lithuania."

On Sept. 9, the Lithuanian Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs and Law and Order backed a proposal to repeal Article 137 of the Constitution, which prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons on Lithuanian territory.

On Sept. 11, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that Lithuania would become a target for Russian nuclear weapons if allied nuclear weapons were deployed on its territory.

On Sept. 22, Lithuanian lawmakers approved a proposal to remove constitutional provisions prohibiting the deployment of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, on the country's territory.