UAV event in Pasvalys District , Juodžionys area, Lithuania on Sun 18th October 2026

An airstrike was declared in Lithuania on the morning of October 18 due to a drone of unknown origin. It later crashed in the Pasvalys district near the village of Juodžionys.

This was reported by the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT.

According to the military, at 6:15 a.m. local time, fighter jets from the NATO air defense mission took off from the Šiauliai air base to patrol the airspace.

"Lithuanian Air Force radars detected a target moving from Polish territory in a northern direction. Identification of the object was complicated by difficult meteorological conditions," the report said.

The drone later crashed near the village of Juojjonis in the Pasvalys district of Panevėžys county. According to the head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, some small debris has already been found on the side of the road and in a field.

"The search is ongoing to find out all the details, whether it is the same object - a drone. Most likely, yes, because the place of its disappearance was in the area of ​​the city of Pasvalis," he told reporters, adding that it is still unclear whether the drone was equipped with a warhead.

Vitkauskas also clarified that the UAV fell on its own, it was not shot down by aircraft. All other details of the incident are currently under investigation.

On September 15, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone in Lithuania that had entered the country's airspace. Its wreckage was found near the village of Pratkunai in the Kaišiadori district. Authorities believe the drone was carrying an explosive charge.