Фото: VSAT
Lithuanian border guards reported intercepting a homemade aircraft that crossed into the country from Belarus in the Šalčininkai District. According to Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), the device is believed to have been used by smugglers.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening. Officers from the Purvėnai border post of the Varėna Border District of the VSAT received a request from the Lithuanian Air Force regarding a possible drone spotted in the airspace between the settlements of Purvėnai, Eišiškės, and Mantviliškės in the Šalčininkai District.
Soon afterward, operators of surveillance systems noticed an object flying toward the state border. After border guards used drone-jamming equipment, the aircraft changed direction and began moving toward the Eišiškės border checkpoint.
A group of border guards was dispatched to the presumed landing area. Several minutes later, VSAT officers again used anti-drone equipment, after which the aircraft crashed near the village of Dumblė.
During an inspection of the area about 500 meters from the state border, border guards discovered a homemade unmanned aircraft without cargo. The device sustained serious damage in the crash.
After an additional inspection of the area, the drone was taken to the Purvėnai border post.
According to the VSAT, Lithuanian border guards have already intercepted 18 smugglers’ drones in the first incomplete five months of 2026. In 2025, a total of 59 drones arriving from Belarus were intercepted throughout the year. In 2024, Lithuanian services intercepted 54 aircraft carrying Belarusian cigarettes.