Lithuania's Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the drone, which exploded in the country's north on Sunday, was Ukrainian and had entered Lithuanian airspace from Poland.
Officials in Vilnius said the drone was carrying explosives, while Polish authorities said their radar systems had not confirmed that it crossed into Lithuania from Polish airspace.
"We regret the incident that occurred this morning in Lithuanian airspace, which may have resulted from Russian electronic warfare diverting drones during an operation against legitimate military targets in Russia," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi wrote on X on Sunday.
"We apologise for any disruption, risks, and concern this may have caused," he said, adding that Kyiv would work with Vilnius to clarify the circumstances of the incident and prevent similar incidents in the future.
"We sincerely thank Lithuania, our ally, for supporting Ukraine in countering Russian aggression, which is the root case of the security threats in our region," Tykhyi also wrote.
Deividas Matulionis, the Lithuanian president’s national security adviser, said Vilnius had credible data indicating that the drone had crossed from Poland.
Sinkevičius said Lithuanian systems had registered the drone crossing the Polish-Lithuanian border.
He said Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas would contact Poland to clarify discrepancies over the drone’s flight path and that the National Security Commission had been convened.
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Monday that he was in contact with his Lithuanian counterpart and that the military was examining reports that the drone had entered Lithuania from Poland.
Poland’s Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Photo: PAP/Art Service
He said several scenarios were being considered, including the possibility that it was a smuggling drone, although the latest information pointed to a Ukrainian drone.
Kaunas said the aircraft was a Ukrainian FPV-1 drone that had strayed off course during an attack on St. Petersburg. He said Russian electronic warfare had likely diverted it.
Smoke rises after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil terminal in St. Petersburg, Oct. 18, 2026. Photo: EPA/STRINGER via PAP
The drone crashed in Lithuania's northern Pasvalys district. Debris damaged a civilian car, but no one was injured.
NATO fighter jets were scrambled but were unable to establish visual contact with the drone because of poor weather conditions.
A red alert was issued for two northern Lithuanian regions and lasted about 30 minutes.
Sinkevičius said the case differed from earlier incidents because the drone came from the Schengen area rather than Belarus.
Separately, Lithuanian authorities are investigating an attempted arson attack overnight into Sunday at premises in Vilnius used by a company storing Starlink satellite communications equipment.
Matulionis said Russia may be responsible, although investigators did not have full confirmation. He stressed that the incident was unrelated to the drone, calling it a coincidence.
(ał/gs)
Source: PAP, IAR, dpa