Lithuania suspects its Defence Ministry could have concealed fact of Russian drone incursions
Saulius Skvernelis, former speaker of Lithuania’s parliament, has stated that the Committee on National Security and Defence will soon investigate whether Russian drones violated Lithuanian airspace at the same time dozens entered Poland.
Source: Baltic states news website Delfi, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The German media outlet Bild previously reported that drones may have entered Lithuanian territory last week. Bild's information indicated that two unidentified flying objects flew into Lithuanian airspace on 10 September. However, the Lithuanian Armed Forces said they could not confirm the information.
Skvernelis noted that if the drone incursion had indeed been concealed, Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė would be responsible.
"The armed forces have denied the information, but we know the armed forces deny or remain silent only at the will or instruction of Minister Šakalienė. What is happening at the Defence Ministry has become an open secret. They are putting pressure on the military, forcing them to do as they are told, including generals, so that information is filtered to avoid damaging the minister’s image," said Skvernelis.
He added that concealing information and inadequate responses to threats are "a serious danger to the security of our society".
Background:
- During a Russian attack on Ukraine on the night of 9-10 September, Russian drones violated Polish airspace 19 times.
- The latest data indicated that the wreckage of Russian drones had been found in 17 settlements across five Polish voivodeships, most of them – 10 – in Lublin Voivodeship.
- Against this backdrop, the North Atlantic Alliance decided to launch an operation called Eastern Sentry to strengthen its eastern flank.
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