One Facebook user, almost a day after the latest drone incident in Lithuanian airspace, recalled that military exercises are currently taking place in some areas.
“It was announced that from September 14-18 military exercises will take place during both day and night in 12 Lithuanian municipalities: Marijampolė, Kaunas district, Vilnius district, Prienai, Alytus, Birštonas, Lazdijai, Varėna, Kaišiadorys, Elektrėnai, Trakai, and Šalčininkai.
The exercises will use different types of unmanned aerial vehicles, boats, and weapons. Simulated ammunition and pyrotechnics will not be used.
Could the identification of bird flocks, spotting and destroying the drone be related to the military exercises, or are these unrelated matters?” she asked rhetorically.
The post published late Tuesday evening received about 230 reactions, and two dozen people shared it. Alongside – nearly a hundred comments.
“Most likely related, just wanted to cause panic among people,” “Of course it’s related, but the Lithuanian government’s main goal is to blame Belarus hoping this time to get involved in a war,” “I think the shot-down drone is one of the exercise weapons, made of wooden plywood and burnt, blackened logs. As seen in the photos,” internet users claimed.
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One Facebook user wondered why Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas initially claimed the drone was without explosives, then later announced that there were indeed explosives.
“Coincidence or not? Italian fighters shoot down a drone made of plywood, and already in the morning the defense ministers of Italy and Lithuania are having a photo session by the fighters. Like heroes. (President Gitanas) Nausėda buys scrap metal in Sweden and no one worries about the incident. The exercises were planned in advance (speech unedited – editor’s note),” another wrote.
Similar comments appeared under another post on Facebook: “People, do you believe all this???”, “Our own released it and manipulated.”
Exercises – also in the river
On Monday, military exercises of the Lithuanian Armed Forces indeed began in twelve Lithuanian municipalities, during which soldiers train to act together responding to different types of military threats.
As announced in advance by the military, the exercises running until Friday use different types of unmanned aerial vehicles, boats, and weapons. Simulated ammunition and pyrotechnics are not used. Soldiers move on foot and by wheeled military and civilian vehicles in the areas.
Soldiers train both during the day and at night in the territories of Vilnius district, Kaunas district, Marijampolė, Alytus, Prienai, Birštonas, Lazdijai, Varėna, Kaišiadorys, Elektrėnai, Trakai, and Šalčininkai municipalities.
The exercise organizers indicated that they will ensure compliance with fire safety and environmental protection requirements in the designated areas.
They were also reported by other media outlets, news pages about Kaišiadorys, Šalčininkai.
The same information was published on the websites of Vilnius district, Klaipėda city, Alytus district, Kaišiadorys district, Trakai district, Prienai district municipalities. The latter additionally noted that from Thursday morning until Friday afternoon, boats will be sailing on the Nemunas River in the Birštonas-Kaunas Reservoir section.
Exercises are not taking place in Belarus
Although the incident coincided with the exercises, and the drone flew over the districts where they are held, these processes are unrelated. This is confirmed by both the chronology of events and the outcome.
Residents of Vilnius County received warnings about a possible air threat during the night from Monday to Tuesday at 00:09, but by that time the drone had most likely already moved away from the capital.
But residents reported the drone much earlier. The Emergency Response Center (ERC) received reports even before midnight. “The first report was at 23:53,” ERC representative Audronė Luneckienė informed 15min.
Also read: Main facts: chronology of the drone shot down in Lithuania
The drone also affected some flights to Vilnius. Around 23:56, a WizzAir plane from Reykjavik turned right, increased altitude, and started moving away from the Lithuanian capital, waiting for the right time to land. The air traffic control specialist hinted to the pilots about an unknown object over the airport but claimed to have no further information.
At the same time, a Mavi Gok Airlines plane from Antalya behaved similarly – circling over the capital.
The drone arriving from Belarus was shot down shortly after midnight by Italian soldiers who took off in fighters from Zokniai, currently carrying out a NATO air policing mission. This happened in Kaišiadorys district, near the Kruonis hydroelectric pumped storage plant.
By the afternoon after the incident, it became clear that the drone had explosives, which were neutralized by Lithuanian police bomb disposal experts from the Anti-Terrorist Operations Unit “Aras.” On Wednesday, President Gitanas Nausėda announced that the shot-down drone was a Russian “Gerbera” that had deviated from its course.
Drone shot down in the Pratkūnai area on Tuesday night
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The story of this incident is full of details disproving that the drone flight and shooting down were part of the exercises. The object came from Belarus. The military had not indicated that the exercises would cover the border, let alone the territory of this neighboring country. The aircraft disrupted passenger flights, which is not planned during exercises. The air traffic control specialist did not even know about such a drone, although if it had been part of the exercises, he should have been informed.
The flying object was shot down by fighter pilots, who – neither Italians nor the fighters – were supposed to participate in the exercises (reports mentioned that only Lithuanian soldiers would participate in the training).
The exercise organizers assured that safety requirements would be followed and pyrotechnics would not be used. Shooting down a drone with explosives in the air could potentially pose a danger to people on the ground. This would contradict both the idea of the exercises and the military itself – soldiers should protect their own country’s people, not threaten them.
It is also a coincidence that on the same day after the incident, the Italian defense minister Guido Crosetto visited the Italian soldiers in Zokniai. He had planned to visit NATO Eastern flank countries – Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia – earlier this week.
However, on Wednesday, the daily “la Repubblica” portal published an unexpected version – that the drone did not fly into Lithuania by accident that day. Based on sources in security services, journalists reported that it was a warning to Kyiv supporters.
The same was said earlier
Claims that Lithuanian services are to blame for such incidents correspond to Russian propaganda narratives. They try to divert attention from this country’s actions, for example, in attacked Ukraine or the Baltic states, shifting responsibility to others. At the same time, trust in local government institutions is undermined, suspicion is created – supposedly something is being done secretly from people, moreover, it is dangerous to residents.
Similar legends have spread more than once. For example, in spring, when a drone fell into Lake Lavysas in Varėna district. Discussions immediately heated up online that it was launched from Lithuania, possibly even by military representatives, accidentally lost during exercises or deliberately brought from Ukraine.
Both military representatives and responsible officials confirmed that the drone (later found to be Ukrainian) came from abroad. There is no data that it was used in military exercises or that the video posted online showing its explosion was fabricated. The prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday that it will investigate the incident as one of the possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Also read: Even soldiers got blamed: here are the versions hastily created about the drone explosion in Varėna district
Internet users said the same about contraband balloons – allegedly Lithuanian services are to blame for their flights. Supposedly, this is intended to provoke conflict with Belarus or even Russia.
Also read: The record doesn’t change: repeating Minsk’s legend about Lithuanian staged balloon flights
But there is no basis to claim that contraband balloon flights from Belarus are staged by Lithuanian special services.
15min verdict: lacking context. There is no basis to claim that the drone flight from Belarus and its shooting down in Lithuanian territory were part of military exercises.
Publication prepared by 15min in cooperation with Meta, aiming to stop the spread of misleading news on social media. More about the program and its rules – here.
