Belarus on Monday accused Lithuania of using a drone to conduct surveillance and drop "extremist material" in Grodno, a city of 360,000 near the Polish border.
Authorities said the drone carried a camera capable of collecting intelligence and small flags associated with opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus claimed the drone was launched from Kapciamiestis, a Lithuanian village near the border.
Vilnius rejected the accusations as false. A spokesperson for Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre called the allegations "invented" and accused Belarus of repeating a pattern of blaming Western countries. The tensions follow recent flight disruptions at Vilnius airport caused by suspected balloons in the nation's airspace.
Further reading: Vilnius Airport closes again over balloons.