airspace incident: Pratkunai, Kaisiadorys district, near the Kruonis pumped-storage plant (2026-09-14)

What happened

On the night of 14 to 15 September, at about midnight, the military observed an object flying towards Lithuania; according to the NKVC the drone entered from Belarus, passed Lentvaris in the Trakai district and flew west, and air-threat warnings were issued for Vilnius, Trakai, Elektrenai and then Kaunas. At 00:19 a yellow alert was declared and at 00:20 two Italian Eurofighters from Siauliai air base (NATO Baltic Air Policing) destroyed the drone with a missile over the village of Pratkunai in the Kaisiadorys district, near the Kruonis pumped-storage plant; the alert was lifted at 00:33. Plan Skydas was activated at the site and sappers neutralised an explosive charge; nobody was hurt. Vilnius Airport restricted operations for the duration of the alert and two arriving flights (from Antalya and Reykjavik) were delayed. On 16 September President Gitanas Nauseda said that according to available information it was a Gerbera-type drone, most likely Russian, intended to attack Ukraine and pushed off course by Ukrainian electronic warfare, so probably not a deliberate act against Lithuania; the same day the foreign ministry handed Belarus a protest note. The first drone shot down over Lithuania; who controlled the object remains under investigation.

Responsibility and limits of the evidence

suspected

Someone has named a perpetrator, but this is neither a court finding nor a formal attribution by a state.

Named party: Russia (per the Lithuanian president's preliminary assessment)

C - official suspicion

Impact

killed

not established

injured

not established

damage

not established

No casualties reported.

pending editorial review

Source discrepancy

Malcontent and UNN date the event to 14 September; the military and the NKVC give entry at about midnight and the shoot-down at 00:20 on 15 September; the Lithuanian foreign ministry speaks of the night of 14 to 15 September. Adopted: 14 September with date_end 15 September.

Sources

1. NKVC tikslina: NATO naikintuvai droną sunaikino Kaišiadorių rajono teritorijoje

   LRT / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the route, the location, the disruption, that it happened, the date

2. NKVC: drono numušimo vietoje įvestas planas Skydas, apžiūrimos surinktos nuolaužos

   LRT / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the location, that it happened, the impact

3. Kaišiadorių rajone numuštas dronas: ką patvirtino kariuomenė

   Dzūkų žinios (za Lietuvos kariuomenė) / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the date, that it happened

4. Šalies vadovai dėkoja Italijos kariams už numuštą droną, pabrėžia oro gynybos svarbą

   LRT / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

   supports: the record

5. Vilniaus ir Kauno apskrityse buvo paskelbtas tikėtinas oro pavojus: dronas sunaikintas Kaišiadorių rajone

   Anykšta / ELTA / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the disruption

6. NATO fighters shoot down drone over Lithuania after airspace incursion

   AeroTime / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the date

7. Italian fighter jets shoot down unidentified drone over Lithuania

   Breaking Defense / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

   supports: the record

8. Nausėda: Kaišiadorių rajone numuštas nuo kurso nukrypęs rusiškas Gerbera dronas

   Respublika / ELTA / 2026-09-16 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the attribution

9. Gitanas Nausėda paskelbė, koks dronas numuštas Kaišiadorių rajone

   15min.lt / 2026-09-16 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the attribution

10. URM: Baltarusijai pareikštas protestas dėl Lietuvos oro erdvės pažeidimo

    LRT / 2026-09-16 / secondary source

    supports: the record, the date

11. Drone shot down by NATO over Lithuania

    France 24 / AFP / 2026-09-15 / secondary source

    supports: the record

12. NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that violated Lithuania's airspace

    UNN (za Delfi) / 2026-09-14 / secondary source

    supports: the record

13. Wpis na X, @giK1893

    X / secondary source

    supports: the record

14. Wpis na X, @ShaunPinnerUA

    X / secondary source

    supports: the record

15. Wpis na X, @Exilenova_plus

    X / secondary source

    supports: the record