11.11.2026 06:50
An alarm was issued in Latvia and Lithuania due to a threat to the airspace. In the two NATO countries, the public was called to go to shelters while fighter jets were scrambled. Due to the activity in the region, flights were disrupted at some airports.
The Baltic countries Latvia and Lithuania went on alert on the night of November 10 due to possible threats to their airspace. Security measures were increased after unidentified aerial vehicles were detected in areas near the border with Belarus and Russia. NATO fighter jets tasked with protecting Baltic airspace also scrambled to respond to possible violations.
NATO FIGHTER JETS SCRAMBLED
Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center announced that an unidentified object was detected moving from Belarusian airspace toward the Baltic countries. Thereupon, NATO fighter jets conducting air patrols in the region were activated. Officials reported that the movement in the airspace was being closely monitored.
SHELTER ALARM IN TWO COUNTRIES
The Latvian Armed Forces called on people living in the Ludza region on the Belarusian border to move to safe areas. The threat warning was later expanded to include the Augšdaugava and Kraslava regions. The army announced that air defense units and unmanned aerial vehicle interception systems had been deployed.
In Lithuania, security warnings were issued in the capital Vilnius as well as in the country's second-largest city, Kaunas, and surrounding areas. Citizens were asked to take shelter in safe places, not approach suspicious or low-flying objects, and inform the authorities in emergencies.
FLIGHTS DISRUPTED AT AIRPORTS
The air alarm in Lithuania also affected civil aviation. Operations were disrupted at Vilnius and Kaunas airports due to temporary restrictions imposed on the airspace. At Vilnius Airport, flights were briefly halted and then resumed, while flight activities were also suspended at Kaunas Airport.
Lithuanian officials, noting that traces specific to balloons were also detected in the airspace, made assessments regarding hybrid activities originating from Belarus. However, no definitive statement was made regarding the identity of the object that NATO aircraft scrambled to intercept.
NEW TENSION IN THE SHADOW OF THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
The latest development in the Baltic countries has again increased security concerns in the region's airspace due to the Russia-Ukraine war. It had previously been reported that some Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles deviated from their routes and entered the airspace of neighboring NATO countries.
Moscow accuses Ukraine of using NATO airspace in its attacks, while the Kyiv government argues that some unmanned aerial vehicles left their routes due to Russia's electronic jamming activities. In the latest incident, it has not yet been established where the aerial vehicles were sent from and which country they belong to.