Lithuanian Prosecutor's Office: Drone that flew in from Belarus in late July contained explosives

The drone that flew into Lithuania from Belarus in late July contained an explosive device. This was reported by the Prosecutor General of Lithuania Nida Grunskene, the media reports LRT.

According to her, this incident is being investigated as a separate episode within a large-scale pre-trial investigation of war crimes in Ukraine. This investigation was launched in March 2022.

Grunskene said that the drone found at the Gaijunai training ground on August 1 was a Gerbera.

After inspection of the UAV, it was found that it was transporting an explosive device, which Lithuanian military experts successfully neutralized at the scene. Parts of the drone were transported for various investigations.

One of the main versions of the investigation is that the drone accidentally entered the territory of Lithuania. For this reason, this incident is being investigated as part of the pre-trial investigation of war crimes in Ukraine.

"Other versions are being investigated in parallel," the prosecutor added.

She thanked the residents who reported the drone and promised that the prosecutor's office would do "everything possible to complete the investigation and provide you with all the answers" during the investigation.

Grunskene also urged residents who find suspicious devices not to approach them and to report them to the services.

Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė reiterated that the main version is that a disoriented drone that Russia launched at Kyiv arrived in the country, but due to successful defense it ended up in Lithuania. She added that no version is being ruled out until the investigation is complete.

"The situation is certainly quite serious. Even if, according to the data available at this stage, we have no reason to believe that the drone was launched into the territory of Lithuania on purpose, we must respond as much as possible," the minister said.

Shakalene clarified that various NATO countries are now "quite sophisticatedly" looking for solutions to combat drones and are using certain experimental methods and weapons that have not yet been used as mainstream weapons to destroy UAVs.

"Since such incidents are likely to recur as long as Russia's war against Ukraine continues, this means that we must also take additional measures," the Lithuanian Defense Minister emphasized.

• On the morning of July 28, 2025, an unidentified drone flew into Lithuania from Belarus. Lithuania promised to strengthen air defense.
• On August 1, the drone was found on the territory of Lithuania at the Gaižiūnai training ground.
• On the same day, Lithuania protested Belarus over the drone's violation of airspace.