A drone that crashed on Lithuanian territory was most likely launched by Ukrainian forces, according to a statement by the country’s defense minister, Robertas Kaunas.

Lithuanian media had earlier reported that an unidentified UAV crossed the border during the night of March 24 and went down in the Varena district in the south of the country, followed by an explosion. Investigators recovered an engine at the crash site, but found no traces of explosive materials.

Speaking at a press conference, Kaunas said the aircraft had probably been a Ukrainian drone that lost its course under the influence of electronic warfare systems and eventually fell inside Lithuania. He added that the country’s air defense systems failed to detect it because the drone was flying at an extremely low altitude, below 300 meters.

The minister also noted that Lithuania has already ordered systems capable of detecting such low-flying targets, though they have not yet been delivered.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginene took a firmer position. Commenting on the incident, she stated that the drone that entered Lithuanian airspace and crashed in the Varena district had indeed been launched by Ukrainian military personnel, describing it as a stray UAV.

Bloomberg observers pointed out that the episode once again exposed vulnerabilities in Lithuania’s air defense system. Kaunas, for his part, argued that such shortcomings remain a serious challenge not only for Lithuania but for NATO as a whole.