<h3>Overview</h3>
<p>On <strong>20 May 2026</strong>, the Lithuanian military warned residents of the Vilnius region to move to shelters after detecting <span class="key-term" data-definition="Drone — an unmanned aerial vehicle, often used for surveillance or attack; increasingly used in modern warfare (GS3: Defence/Technology)">drone</span> activity near the border with Belarus. The alert lasted about an hour, airspace over Vilnius Airport was closed, and both <strong>President Gitanas Nauseda</strong> and <strong>Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene</strong> were taken to safe locations. This was the first major emergency drill in an EU and <span class="key-term" data-definition="North Atlantic Treaty Organization — a military alliance of 31 countries, including the US and most of Europe, responsible for collective defence (GS2: Polity)">NATO</span> capital since Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.</p>
<h3>Key Developments</h3>
<ul>
<li>Military issued an emergency alert instructing people to "immediately head to a shelter or a safe place".</li>
<li>Airspace over Vilnius Airport was temporarily closed.</li>
<li><strong>President Nauseda</strong>, <strong>Prime Minister Ruginiene</strong> and members of the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Seimas — the parliament of Lithuania, the legislative body (GS2: Polity)">Seimas</span> were moved to shelters.</li>
<li><span class="key-term" data-definition="National Crisis Management Centre — Lithuania's agency that coordinates response to emergencies and security threats (GS2: Polity)">National Crisis Management Centre</span> chief Vilmantas Vitkauskas said the object was likely a combat <span class="key-term" data-definition="Drone — an unmanned aerial vehicle, often used for surveillance or attack; increasingly used in modern warfare (GS3: Defence/Technology)">drone</span>, but its exact type could not be confirmed.</li>
<li><strong>NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte</strong> praised the alliance’s "calm, decisive and proportionate" response, blaming Russia’s war on Ukraine for the heightened tension.</li>
<li>Russia warned it would retaliate if Baltic states launch or host Ukrainian <span class="key-term" data-definition="Drone — an unmanned aerial vehicle, often used for surveillance or attack; increasingly used in modern warfare (GS3: Defence/Technology)">drone</span> attacks against Russia.</li>
<li>Ukraine reported shooting down <strong>131 of 154</strong> Russian <span class="key-term" data-definition="Drone — an unmanned aerial vehicle, often used for surveillance or attack; increasingly used in modern warfare (GS3: Defence/Technology)">drone</span> strikes overnight, with three civilians killed and eighteen injured.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Important Facts</h3>
<p>Lithuania shares its eastern border with Belarus, a Russian ally, and its western border with the Russian exclave of <span class="key-term" data-definition="Kaliningrad — a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, bordering Lit
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