Drone that crashed in Lithuania came from Ukraine, PM says

VILNIUS, March 24 (Reuters) – A military drone that crashed in Lithuania came from Ukraine and was intended to attack Russia’s oil exports before going astray, the Baltic nation’s government said on Tuesday.

Lithuanian armed forces said on Monday that a suspicious drone entered the country’s airspace and crashed into an ice-covered lake about 20 km (12 miles) from the Belarusian border.

The Lithuanian government said it was part of a Ukrainian attack on the Primorsk oil loading terminal, one of Russia’s two major export facilities on the Baltic Sea coast, which was hit around the same time.

“This is not a local incident, but part of the broader security picture. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine creates additional risks for the entire region,” Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said at a press conference on Tuesday.

NATO alliance member Lithuania is a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Lithuania requested more air defense from NATO last year after military drones from Belarus landed on its territory twice in July 2025. Lithuanian intelligence said earlier this month that both drones accidentally entered Lithuania.

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, ​edited by Terje Solsvik)