Lithuania says drone sightings actually flock of birds, after NATO deploys jets

VILNIUS- Lithuania said that a perceived drone sighting in its airspace earlier on Sunday that prompted authorities to close Vilnius airport and NATO to summon at least one fighter jet, turned out to be a flock of birds.

The air alert was lifted and the airport reopened within 38 minutes, after the NATO jet made a visual identification, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre said.

"On initial radar readings, marks left by birds and drones can be similar," it added in a statement.

A jet had been summoned from Siauliai in northern Lithuania, the centre said, where the Italian air force is currently based as part of the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission.

Military drones straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are stoking concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over into NATO's northern borders with Russia.

The Vilnius marathon, which was taking place in the capital, was not interrupted, the organizers told Reuters.

Reporting by Andrius Sytas; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Christina Fincher and Susan Fenton/Reuters