The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service is conducting an inspection related to a possible appearance of an underwater drone from Russia in the country’s territorial waters. This is reported by the Delfi portal.
In early August, an underwater drone from Russia may have penetrated Lithuanian territorial waters near Nida. This was reported last Saturday by residents who were watching the “Curonian Lagoon Regatta.”
“It was visible how the border boat quickly rushed after the underwater drone. It looked atypical, because border guards almost never patrol this part of the Curonian Lagoon,” said one of the eyewitnesses.
On Thursday, Aiste Žalnieraitienė, senior public relations specialist of the Border Guard Unit of the State Border Guard Service, confirmed to the portal that a suspicious object was indeed spotted in the Curonian Lagoon on August 2.
“On August 2, an object was spotted in the Curonian Spit, which may have crossed the border of the Republic of Lithuania from the Russian side. Currently, the Pre-Trial Investigation Department of the Criminal Investigation Department of the State Border Guard Service is investigating the circumstances. Thereafter, a decision will be made to initiate a pre-trial investigation,” she said.
On August 1, it was reported that after several days of searching, a Russian drone that had flown in from Belarus was discovered almost in the center of Lithuania. The Prosecutor General’s Office later stated that the drone contained an explosive charge.
The Lithuanian Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs jointly appealed to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte with a request to urgently strengthen the country’s air defense.
Before that, a similar incident occurred on July 10, when a Gerber drone flew into Lithuania via Belarus.
