VILNIUS, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Latvia and Lithuania warned people on Wednesday to seek shelter across several regions against threats from unidentified drones entering their airspace via neighbouring Russia or Belarus, adding that NATO air defence fighter jets were activated.
There were no reports of injuries, while Lithuania’s crisis management authorities said their warning covered the second most populous city of Kaunas, home to about 300,000.
Finland, another Russian neighbour, adopted temporary airspace and maritime curbs in the eastern Gulf of Finland on Wednesday, its defence forces said on X.
“This is a precautionary measure aimed at ensuring the safety of bystanders and enabling the authorities to counter potential drones,” they added.
The step came as Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia’s northwest, home to major Baltic Sea export facilities and a big oil refinery.
Ukrainian military drones have been straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, feeding concern that the Ukraine war is spilling into NATO countries that border Russia and its ally Belarus.
As Ukraine attacks Russian Baltic Sea oil shipping ports, some of its drones have missed their targets, prompting security warnings in neighbouring countries and even a government collapse this year in Latvia.
Moscow has accused Kyiv of using NATO airspace as cover for attacks, while Kyiv says some of its drones have been steered off course by Russian signal jamming. The NATO countries blame Russia for the incidents, saying it ignited the war.
Russian and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday in a new US push to end the war in Ukraine. President Donald Trump has said the war was close to being settled and that ending it might involve all of Europe.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas and Janis Laizans; Additional reporting by Jekaterīna Golubkova;Writing by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Clarence Fernandez)
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