Lithuania’s Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and Parliamentary Speaker Saulius Skvernelis were evacuated to a secure shelter Thursday morning after an unidentified flying object was detected near the Belarusian border, initially believed to be a combat drone.

Authorities feared the object could be a Russian Shahed drone, of the type used in Ukraine, prompting swift emergency measures. However, Lithuania’s military later confirmed that the object, which crashed roughly one kilometer inside Lithuanian territory, was likely a home-built aircraft and posed no real threat.

Rising Tensions Over Baltic Airspace

The incident occurred at 11:30 a.m. local time and set off immediate concern in a region on edge over potential spillovers from Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Baltic states, all NATO and EU members, have reported several airspace breaches in the past year involving stray drones from Russia.

Last year, similar intrusions were reported in Latvia and Romania, fueling fears about unintentional escalation or targeted provocations. Thursday’s evacuation, although ultimately unnecessary, underscores the heightened state of alert among frontline NATO states.

Lithuanian officials have yet to confirm the exact origin of the crashed object but reaffirmed that there was no damage or casualties.