Lithuania says drone that crashed near Belarus border may have been Ukrainian

The minister said the aircraft was likely headed toward the port of Primorsk in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast before it apparently went off course. 

“It is very likely that this is a Ukrainian drone, affected by electronic warfare measures, which became lost and came down on our territory,” Kaunas said. He added that neither Lithuania nor Belarus detected the drone because it was flying below roughly 300 meters. 

Kaunas said additional radars needed to detect low-flying drones had already been ordered but had not yet arrived. According to LRT, those systems are expected to be delivered in 2026, 2027, and 2028. 

Lithuania’s army said on March 23 that an unidentified drone had entered the country’s airspace and fallen into an ice-covered lake about 20 kilometers from the border with Belarus. Army spokesperson Gintautas Ciunis said debris found around a hole in the ice likely belonged to the drone. Officials recovered an internal combustion engine along with metal and plastic fragments. Video from night-vision cameras captured about 40 seconds of buzzing before a loud explosion, followed by burning debris flying upward. 

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene later said it was already clear the drone had been Ukrainian and related to an operation targeting Russia. She described it as a stray drone. 

Lithuania had reported similar incidents before. In October and November 2025, drones and weather balloons from Belarus were spotted over Lithuanian territory. On Nov. 5, 2025, Vilnius Airport temporarily suspended operations after a drone was detected.