Vilnius Airport Closes as NATO Jets Scramble Over Suspected Drone

Vilnius Airport in Lithuania was closed for less than an hour after an unidentified object, possibly a drone, was reported approaching Lithuania from the direction of Belarus, according to authorities. NATO fighter jets were also scrambled to patrol the area around Vilnius Airport after a possible air threat was reported on Saturday morning, Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) said. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The alert was lifted after about 50 minutes, with officials saying there was no confirmed air threat. Authorities are continuing to investigate what triggered the alert. “The object has not yet been fully identified. Fighter jets have been scrambled and are carrying out the procedures,” Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the NKVC, told Lithuania’s national broadcaster, LRT Radio. “Whether it was birds or some other object, I cannot say at this time,” he added. Military drones have repeatedly entered or approached the airspace of Lithuania and other Baltic states since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, heightening concerns about the conflict’s potential spillover into NATO territory. TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find our guest interviews, world news from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region.