Poland and Lithuania will fight drones together

On the night of 14-15 September, the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre reported the shooting down of a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace from the direction of Belarus. Meanwhile, in Poland on 14 September, the military recovered an unmanned aerial vehicle from the Baltic Sea in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. There are strong indications that it was a Russian Gerbera drone. Military examinations of the device are currently underway. The machine was likely unarmed and may have been performing reconnaissance tasks. As of now, there is no evidence to suggest that it was directed against Poland.

“During the night, I contacted the Polish Defence Minister; we made contact immediately after the incident,” said Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas during an interview with the public broadcaster LRT. “We agreed to clarify the circumstances together and concentrate our forces to establish all the details,” he added.

The Minister stated that the Russo-Ukrainian war remains intense and its scope is broad, extending beyond the borders of both countries. Lithuanian services reported that the drone entered the country’s airspace from Belarus and was shot down by Italian NATO fighter jets stationed in Šiauliai, central Lithuania.

Since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Baltic states have repeatedly experienced incidents involving drones. So far, there have been no casualties among the citizens of these countries; however, subsequent drone incursions have influenced the political situation in these nations, leading, for example, to a change of government in Latvia.