Lithuania says drone shot down over its airspace was Russian Gerbera type bound for Ukraine
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said a drone downed over Lithuania on Tuesday night was a Russian "Gerbera" type, most likely headed for Ukraine before being knocked off course by Ukrainian electronic warfare and entering Lithuanian airspace, where NATO air policing aircraft shot it down. It is the first drone shot down over Lithuanian airspace. Lithuania plans to deliver a diplomatic note of protest to Belarus and consult with allies.
Key points
- Drone downed near the village of Pratkunai in Kaišiadorys district on Tuesday night
- NATO air policing aircraft shot down the drone — the first such incident in Lithuanian airspace
- President Nausėda identified it as a Russian Gerbera-type drone, most likely bound for Ukraine and diverted by Ukrainian electronic warfare
- The drone entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus and was found to carry explosives, which were defused
- Nausėda said the incident was probably not an intentional attack on Lithuania and warned similar events could recur
- Lithuania plans a note of protest to Belarus and consultations with allies, as announced by Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys
- Nausėda called for better drone-detection capabilities and alternatives to using fighter jets to shoot down drones
Why it matters
The shootdown is the first of a drone over Lithuanian airspace, marking a new stage in the spillover of the war in Ukraine into NATO territory. Lithuania's assessment that the drone was a Russian weapon meant for Ukraine, rather than an intentional attack, shapes how NATO frames the incident. Lithuania's planned protest to Belarus and consultations with allies, alongside calls for improved drone-detection capabilities and alternatives to fighter jets, point to an emerging capability gap in NATO's eastern flank.
What happened
On Tuesday night, NATO air policing aircraft shot down a drone near the village of Pratkunai in Lithuania's Kaišiadorys district. The drone had entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said it was a Russian "Gerbera"-type drone, most likely intended for Ukraine but diverted by Ukrainian electronic warfare, and that the incident was probably not an intentional attack on Lithuania. Explosives found aboard the drone were defused. It is the first drone shot down over Lithuanian airspace. Nausėda warned that similar incidents could recur and called on the Ministry of Defence to consider alternatives to using fighter jets to shoot down drones. Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said Lithuania would deliver a note of protest to Belarus and consult with allies.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Both supplied articles are Ukrainian and centre Nausėda's statement that the drone was a Russian Gerbera bound for Ukraine, most likely diverted by Ukrainian electronic warfare. The reporting foregrounds the spillover threat to NATO, Lithuanian warnings that such incidents could recur, and the discovery of explosives in the downed drone, while tying the event to prior drone shootdowns over Latvia and Estonia and to Ukrainian Air Force reports of Gerbera-type drones over northern Ukraine on the night of 14–15 September.
Background
The "Gerbera" is a type of Russian drone; the Ukrainian Air Force reported that both conventional and jet-powered UAVs, including the Gerbera variety, flew over northern Ukraine on the night of 14–15 September. Drones had previously been shot down over Latvia and Estonia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier attributed regional drone incidents to UAVs being diverted from targets in Russia by Russian electronic warfare. On 13 September, an air raid alert in parts of Lithuania was triggered but turned out to have been caused by a flock of birds.