VILNIUS, March 24, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Lithuania said Tuesday that a drone that crashed on its territory, near the border with Belarus, was a Ukrainian one that had gone off-course during a strike mission against Russia.

The drone had caused alarm when it came down Monday with an explosion in a lake near Lithuania's southern city of Varena, though it caused no casualties nor damage.

Lithuanian officials immediately launched a probe into the incident, fearing the drone had come from Belarus -- an ally of Russia's in the war on Ukraine.

But Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene on Tuesday told journalists it turned out that "the drone that crossed our airspace and entered the Varena district was a Ukrainian drone".

She said "it was related to an operation that Ukrainians were carrying out that night targeting Russia, and we can already say that it was a stray drone".

European countries close to Russia and Ukraine have upped vigilance against drone incursions, fearing spillover from the war.

Two drones previously entered Lithuanian airspace in July 2025 -- one of them armed -- after apparently straying during Russian attacks on Ukraine.

Similar drone incidents have happened in fellow European Union countries Romania and Poland, and also in Moldova.