Lithuania pledges review of emergency protocols following drone alert

Lithuania has announced a review of its national emergency protocols as part of broader efforts to strengthen the country’s response to drone-related threats in light of an intrusion incident.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė unveiled the planned measures following a meeting of the National Security Commission, Caliber.Az reports citing Lithuanian media.

The changes will include revisions to the operation of public shelter systems as well as improvements to population alert mechanisms.

Her remarks came after the latest drone alert triggered major disruption in the capital on May 20. During the incident, a red-level air alert was issued in the Vilnius region, residents were urged to seek shelter, and both Lithuania’s president and prime minister were forced to take cover as the capital briefly ground to a halt.

According to Ruginienė, the incident showed that the emergency system generally worked as intended, but also exposed several weaknesses related to coordination and access to shelters.

She said municipal shelters should in future remain accessible around the clock, while warnings about potential threats may be issued more frequently, even when there are only preliminary signs of danger.

“I want to apologize to residents: we made the decision to inform people more often, even if there are only indications of a threat,” the prime minister said.

Ruginienė also noted that some residents experienced difficulties accessing information during the incident, including disruptions to the LT72 website, which authorities now intend to modernize.

The Lithuanian leader pledged to address the shortcomings identified in the system and announced plans to integrate new radar systems by the end of the summer, including short-range and passive radars.

By Nazrin Sadigova