Lithuania orders residents to shelters after detecting unidentified flying object

On October 18, 2026, Lithuania ordered residents in central and northern regions to go to shelters for about an hour and closed Kaunas airport after detecting an unrecognized flying object. NATO air police fighters were deployed during the red air warning, while neighboring Latvia briefly issued a yellow air alert in border regions. The incident occurs amidst repeated Baltic airspace incursions by Ukrainian drones, which Kyiv attributes to Russian signal jamming, escalating concerns that the war in Ukraine could spill across NATO borders.

Lithuania responds to aerial threat

• ▪On October 18, 2026, the Lithuanian military and national crisis management centre instructed residents in central and northern parts of the country to go to shelters for about an hour after detecting an unrecognized flying object
• ▪NATO air police fighter jets were summoned to central and northern Lithuania on October 18, 2026, while the red air warning was active
• ▪Lithuanian authorities issued a red air warning and closed Kaunas airport for about an hour on October 18, 2026, during the unidentified aerial object incident that Lithuania detected over its territory

Drones drift into NATO airspace

• ▪Officials in Kyiv stated that Russian signal jamming has repeatedly forced Ukrainian drones off course into NATO airspace
• ▪Ukrainian drones have repeatedly crossed into NATO airspace across the Baltic region in recent months