Lithuania asks NATO for more air defences after drones land on its territory
VILNIUS - Lithuania's foreign ministry has written to the NATO military alliance asking it to strengthen its air defences, it said on Tuesday, after two military drones have crossed into its territory from Belarus in less than a month.
"This must not be only Lithuania's responsibility, because we are defending the eastern NATO flank," Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told reporters.
NATO and European Union member Lithuania borders Russia and Moscow's ally, Belarus.
The letter from Lithuania's foreign and defence ministers to NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte said the alliance must show it is ready to defend "every centimetre of its territory".
In the most recent incident, a drone crossed into Lithuania on July 28, which Lithuania suspects was directed by Russia at Ukraine, but that it was disoriented by Ukraine's defences, Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said on Tuesday.
The drone was found crashed in a military training area about 100 kilometres (62.14 miles) from the border with Belarus and contained 2 kg (4 lb) of explosives, the chief of staff of the Lithuanian army, Dainius Paskevicius, told reporters.
Sakaliene had earlier identified the object as a Gerbera drone, a wooden copy of an Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drone, which Russian military is known to use.
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Another Gerbera drone entered Lithuania from Belarus on July 10, causing alarm before authorities determined it was not dangerous.
Then-prime minister Gintautas Paluckas and Speaker of Parliament Saulius Skvernelis were briefly taken to bomb shelters in response to the drone entering Lithuanian airspace, according to their spokespersons.
NATO was not immediately available for comment. REUTERS
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