An unmanned aircraft crossed the Lithuanian border again, prompting some residents to receive special notifications on their phones.
Soon, a flood of questions followed.
One of them was why Lithuania had failed to detect the drone that crossed the state border again.
Military expert Egidijus Papečkys told LRT Radio that this shows a simple situation: „The second incident happened earlier than we expected.“
According to him, Lithuania was unable to strengthen at least the warning system during the period from July 10 to July 28.
„I remember very well when Lithuania wanted air defence systems, and NATO allies and partners advised us to strengthen our airspace surveillance and control.
Now we will inevitably have to do this—first of all, densify the network of radar and other surveillance systems at the border.
It will cost a little, but it is a necessary measure that cannot be done too quickly, neither in five minutes nor in a month,“ Papečkys told LRT Radio.
Social networks are already full of numerous testimonies about the drone being heard. This is also being discussed loudly by Vilnius residents, including public figure Haroldas Mackevičius, who said that the drone flew over his house at around 4:56 a.m.
A video showing the drone has also appeared, and the person who posted it asked what it could be. As previously reported by the Lrytas portal, it is currently impossible to confirm that this is the drone in question.
Among the testimonies are many questions.
One of the most common is how the authorities found out about the drone, as they rely on reports from people rather than systems.
There has been speculation that people may have spotted the drone flying from Lithuania to Belarus.
„Nothing is clear. Do we have any system that allows us to see a drone?“ LRT Radio journalist Edvardas Kubilius asked Papečkys.
„We can certainly see that there are gaps in the system. Even during the Cold War, there were similar gaps in NATO countries, not to mention the Soviet Union, where a small plane flew into Moscow Square and landed. And here we have an unmanned aircraft. It is difficult to spot.
We can blame the services, the army, although in my opinion, we shouldn't.
Let me remind you that we kept our army half-starved for 30 years. There was a lack of funding, and now we are rapidly catching up, filling the gaps, and this is a new threat that we have not faced for very long.
We are watching how Romania and Poland are reacting. There are no urgent measures there either.
Understandably, citizens want to be safe and know what is flying overhead; therefore, we need to take a constructive look at what to do and how much money to allocate.
Then we need to strengthen the system comprehensively and consistently,“ said Papečkys.
He stressed that the „most realistic possibility“ is that the drone flew into Lithuania by accident, but did not rule out the possibility that Lithuania could have been under surveillance.
„The most likely scenario is that the drone's control was disrupted over Ukraine and it flew in via Belarus,“ Papečkys told LRT Radio.
When asked by a journalist whether he could use a drone to fly directly to the Seimas and whether Lithuania could shoot it down before it reached Vilnius, Papečkys emphasised: „To shoot it down, we would need a much more developed air defence system. The drone would not be able to cause any damage, even if it were blown up over the Seimas building, but it would have serious consequences for potential aggressors. However, all options must be considered, and I do not doubt that all responsible institutions are thinking about this.“