Belarus issues protest to NATO state over drone ‘provocation’
Belarus has summoned Lithuania’s charge d’affaires regarding an alleged recent airspace violation by a drone, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
On Sunday, a Western European-made UAV illegally crossed into Belarus’ airspace and crashed in the city of Grodno, the ministry said in a statement. The city lies roughly 30km (19 miles) from the Lithuanian border and 15km (9 miles) from neighboring Poland.
Video footage and navigation data recovered from the drone indicated that its planned route involved flying over Belarus and then crossing into Poland, the ministry added.
“We regard these actions as a deliberate provocation not only against the Republic of Belarus but also against the Republic of Poland,” it said.
Minsk has demanded that Vilnius provide details on the circumstances of the incident, the identity of the pilot, and the purpose of the drone’s launch, the ministry stated. Lithuania must also conduct a thorough investigation, hold those responsible to account, and take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, it added.
“Belarus reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security, based on the current situation,” the MFA added, calling the incident a threat to Belarusian national sovereignty.
It comes just weeks after a nearly month-long border closure between the neighboring countries, following Lithuania’s claims that Belarus failed to curb alleged cigarette smuggling via balloons launched from its territory.
The UAV crash also follows a series of recent alleged drone-related incidents elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
Moldova in recent weeks, and Poland earlier this year have accused Russia of sending drones into their airspace.
Tensions between Moscow and Warsaw shot up in September, after Poland accused Russia of conducting drone incursions. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the accusations as baseless, and argued they were fabricated to derail the Ukraine peace process and further whip up anti-Russian sentiment.
