Lithuanian minister says Sunday drone crash was part of Ukrainian attack on St Petersburg

A drone that entered Lithuanian airspace and crashed in the northern Pasvalys district on Sunday was part of a Ukrainian attack on St Petersburg, Lithuania’s defence minister said.

“The attack was targeting St Petersburg, and we know that very well. Some of the drones deviated into our territory because of the electronic warfare measures used by Russia. This particular drone is a consequence of the attack on St Petersburg,” Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told LRT TV on Sunday night.

Initial information indicated that the aircraft was a Ukrainian-made FPV-1 drone, Kaunas said, adding that Ukraine had apologised for the incident in public statements.

Authorities are continuing to search for the drone’s computer equipment, the minister said.

Kaunas also dismissed a connection between the drone incident and an attempted arson attack overnight Sunday at premises in Vilnius used by the US company SpaceX.

“I would not link these two incidents. The drone is Ukrainian, St Petersburg was attacked, and this is part of one operation,” he said. “Meanwhile, the attempt to destroy Starlink infrastructure, which we have seen in other countries – Poland and Romania – is a separate story.”

The minister said Lithuania would have a stronger air defence system in a couple of years, but acknowledged that the country faces challenges in responding to aerial threats today.

“The problem is that things were not done two, three or four years ago, and today we are facing the consequences,” Kaunas said. He added that measures being implemented now should improve both detection capabilities and kinetic responses in the coming years.

For now, fighter jets remain the best response to aerial threats, he said, pointing to NATO’s active air policing mission, which Lithuania relies on. Additional measures are also being implemented to strengthen the country’s defences, he added.

Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on St Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, since 2022 on Sunday. An oil refinery caught fire during the attack.

Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, said 126 drones had been shot down.

The drone entering Lithuanian airspace prompted a red air alert in the Šiauliai and Panevėžys counties and a yellow alert in Kaunas early Sunday. The alerts were lifted in all three counties about an hour later, at around 08:00.

Debris from the crashed drone was later found in the village of Juodžionys in the Pasvalys district.

The aircraft exploded on impact, and its fragments damaged a civilian car. No injuries were reported.