Fighter jets were scrambled in Lithuania and the capital’s airport was shut amid fears of drone incursions.
Lithuania issued an “air danger” warning on Wednesday, suspending traffic at Vilnius International Airport and asking people to take shelter.
“Immediately take shelter in a safe place, take care of your close ones, await new recommendations,” Lithuania’s army said in a message sent to people in Vilnius.
A warning was also issued in the Vilnius parliament building. “Due to the risk of air attack, we ask all persons in the building to go to the nearest shelter,” an announcement on parliament’s intercom read.
Lithuania’s national crisis management centre earlier said it had issued an alert in response to a drone in neighbouring Belarus that was seen flying towards Lithuania.
The chaos came as Russia and Belarus’ armed forces took part in nuclear weapons drills in Belarus, which are set to run until Thursday. Russia said on Wednesday that it has brought its nuclear weapons units and formations “to the highest levels of combat readiness” in military drills.
The Belarusian Defence Ministry announced on Monday that it was carrying out nuclear weapons drills together with Russia “to improve the readiness of the armed forces to use modern means of destruction, including special ammunition”.
On Tuesday, a NATO fighter jet shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone violating Estonian airspace.
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