Lithuania's Vilnius airport closed in response to airspace violation, media reports
Lithuania's main airport was closed late on Oct. 4 following a sighting of 13 "contraband" balloons flying towards the site, Lithuanian outlet LRT reported.
"Attention: The airspace over Vilnius Airport is closed until 4:30 a.m.," a notice on the airport's online homepage read.
Unidentified drones have violated European airspace several times in recent weeks, prompting airport closures throughout the continent.
Russia has been increasingly suspected of being behind the drone sightings over NATO territory, following known Russian violations of the defense alliance's Eastern Flank in September.
Flying objects were detected near Baltoji Voke, with disruptions expected to last several hours, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center (NKVC), told LRT.
The airport's airspace was closed as the NKVC determined it was unsafe for aircraft to depart and land in Vilnius, the agency later said.
Baltoji Voke is a town located near Lithuania's capital. Vilnius itself is situated only 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the country's border with Belarus.
Unidentified drones prompted airport closures several times in Denmark in recent days. Drone sightings have also caused disruptions in several other European countries, including Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands. As investigations continue, authorities have not ruled out that the drones may be Russian.
Moscow violated Polish airspace on Sept. 10, prompting Warsaw to shoot down Russian drones over its territory in a first for any NATO member in over three years of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Russian drones again violated EU and NATO airspace, flying over Romanian territory on Sept. 13
Three Russian jets violated Estonian airspace on Sept. 19 in an escalation from drones as Moscow continues its provocations. The breach occurred over the Gulf of Finland, where Russian jets crossed into Estonian territory without permission before departing, the Estonian Defense Forces confirmed.
