Lithuania Raises Alert Over Suspected Drone, Later Identified as Weather Balloon

Lithuanian authorities triggered an alert in the capital, Vilnius, on Saturday after spotting a suspicious aerial object near the city. Early reports raised concern that a military drone may have entered Lithuanian airspace, prompting a security response and widespread attention.

As uncertainty grew, security forces were dispatched to investigate the incident, and some reports said NATO aircraft were placed on standby. At first, officials could not determine what had been seen in the sky.

Later, Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre said the checks showed the object was not a hostile aircraft but a weather balloon. With that finding, the security concern was lifted and the incident ended without further consequences.