Nato jets deployed in Lithuania over misidentified weather balloon

On Saturday, June 13, Lithuanian authorities issued a public warning regarding a potential unauthorized drone entry into the country's airspace. NATO standby fighter jets were dispatched to intercept the suspicious object. Upon visual identification, pilots determined the object was a weather balloon, and the alert was subsequently canceled. The incident occurred while Lithuania remains in a state of high alert due to recent airspace violations in the Baltic region. Authorities noted that previous breaches involved long-range Ukrainian drones that drifted off course after failing to strike Russian targets. Additionally, officials cited frequent past incursions involving balloons carrying contraband, often originating from neighboring Belarus. The National Crisis Management Center of Lithuania confirmed the coordination of the response.