By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A suspected drone exploded over Lithuania after triggering an alert that forced residents in northern and central areas to seek shelter for an hour on Sunday morning, the president and other defence officials said.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said later it regretted the incident in Lithuania's airspace, adding that it may have resulted from Russian electronic warfare diverting drones off course.
The object flew into Lithuania's airspace from Poland, Lithuanian
Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told reporters, after proposing a joint investigation to his Polish counterpart.
"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is spilling over onto the Eastern flank of NATO and EU," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on X.
"What appears to be a drone exploded over the northern part of the country, posing a danger to the civilian population," he added.
NATO SCRAMBLES FIGHTERS
Poland's military said it was also verifying a possible violation of its airspace by an unidentified object.
A Polish Defence Ministry spokesperson later said radar systems did not confirm the object crossing the border into Lithuania, but added that Polish authorities were remaining in contact with Lithuanian officials.
During the "red" alert, NATO fighter jets were scrambled to the area, and Kaunas airport, near Lithuania's second-largest city, was temporarily closed, the Lithuanian government's crisis management centre said.
The NATO aircraft were unable to visually identify the object due to cloudy weather and did not attempt to shoot it down, the centre said.
Lithuanian army personnel were investigating possible drone debris near Juodzionys village in northern Lithuania, after the object disappeared from radar, possibly after exploding, the centre said.
Some of the debris struck a civilian vehicle, Kaunas said.
"We can confirm that two Italian Eurofighter jets were scrambled earlier today in response to a drone over Lithuanian airspace," a NATO official said.
"The aircraft were operating under NATO command. An investigation is ongoing, and NATO remains in close contact with the Lithuanian authorities," the official said, adding that the alliance was ready and able to react to any potential threat.
Northern neighbour Latvia briefly issued a "yellow" air warning in some regions bordering Lithuania, citing a "possible threat", its army said.
Ukrainian drones have repeatedly entered NATO airspace in the Baltic region in recent months. Kyiv has said they were steered off course by Russian signal jamming.
This has stoked concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine is spilling over NATO's borders.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels and Anna Koper in Warsaw; Editing by Saad Sayeed, William Mallard, Elaine Hardcastle and Joe Bavier)
