Lithuania Issues Two Air Alerts Overnight on November 10 as NATO Jets Scramble Twice: Suspected Drones Approached From Belarus, Vilnius and Kaunas Airports Briefly Closed
VILNIUS — Lithuania issued two air alerts overnight on November 10 to 11, and NATO Baltic air policing jets were scrambled twice. Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported that the first yellow alert, covering the Vilnius and Utena regions, began at about 11 p.m. on November 10 and was lifted shortly after midnight.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania National Crisis Management Centre, said three drones were tracked in Belarus during the first incident and none entered Lithuanian airspace, with one flying into Latvia and later continuing north. In the second incident, a suspected drone was believed to have entered Lithuania from Belarus near Druskininkai, traveled north across several regions and left Lithuanian airspace near Pasvalys. NATO jets detected the object but did not shoot it down.
Vilnius and Kaunas airports were temporarily closed during the alerts. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius called it a difficult night, said four drones had been detected across the region, and said an attempt was made to neutralise a target over northern Lithuania, with debris from a NATO missile later found near Birzai.
Latvia National Armed Forces issued an airspace threat warning after 3 a.m. for the Cesis, Smiltene and Gulbene municipalities, saying drone interceptors, air defense units and NATO air policing jets had been activated. Finland imposed temporary air and maritime restrictions in the eastern Gulf of Finland in the early hours, and similar warnings were issued in parts of Estonia. No injuries were reported. The identity and origin of the objects have not been established, and Russian and Ukrainian accounts of why drones strayed differ. This item records each side account without assigning responsibility.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一架执行北约波罗的海空中警戒任务的 F-16 战机在立陶宛希奥利艾空军基地紧急起飞（本尊国家、同类警戒升空任务）。Courtesy of NATO’s Allied Air Command 供图，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Romanian F-16 at Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania. By Courtesy of NATO’s Allied Air Command, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
41-Year-Old US Army Officer Arrested Near Gloucester on November 10: Suspected Offences Under National Security Act Sections 1 and 3, Allegations Relate to Russia2026-11-11
Yemen Government Forces Claim About 190 Houthi Fighters Killed or Wounded Across Six Provinces: WHO Counts 1,771 Dead Since August and Over 300,000 Displaced2026-11-11