Residents and lawmakers in Vilnius took shelter Wednesday when an alert was raised about a drone incursion into Lithuanian territory. While certainly a frightening situation, Benediktas Vanagas feels it was an important one that should teach the country to stay on guard as tensions continue between the rest of Europe and Russia.

The Dakar veteran is currently in San Diego so he didn’t experience the alarm, and admitted that “when things like this happen, you really want to be at home and be useful.”

The Lithuanian defense ministry’s shelter alarm was the first to be activated in a NATO and EU capital city since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė were among those evacuated to bunkers alongside members of the Seimas and cabinet. The airspace was closed as NATO’s Baltic Air Policing went into action.

Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas subsequently confirmed “no incidents have been detected in our airspace.” Lithuania and its allies blamed Russia for the incursion, surmising a Ukrainian drone might have been redirected by Russian jamming.

As Russia’s invasion continues well into its fourth year, NATO members have increasingly reported incidents between them and Russian forces. Earlier on Wednesday, Britain said two Russian jets intercepted a British surveillance plane in April.

Lithuania and its fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia have also had to deal with drones crossing into their borders as well as suspicious activity from neighboring Russian ally Belarus. Last week, Latvia failed to stop two drones within its airspace and the ensuing fallout led to Prime Minister Evika Siliņa’s resignation.

While Lithuania has been fairly vigilant thus far, Vanagas thinks Wednesday was especially vital to waking the country up to the ongoing crisis. If anything, the Lithuanian response raised concern that he feels should be addressed.

“I don’t want war here and I don’t want things to happen, but I have eyes too,” said Vanagas. “I’m aware and I understand a little bit of history, and I know that it’s only a matter of time before we have bigger things to deal with. What happened is a very good lesson for us, because it seems to me that we still think preparedness is something that concerns someone else but not us personally.

“I myself realized that we have certain communication algorithms in place and what to do if necessary, but now that they’ve been used, I see they don’t work at all. It’s good that the worst thing that can happen didn’t happen, and now we have a chance to simply become better. That, it seems to me, is a simple lesson we need to learn here.”

Like his fellow countrymen, Vanagas is staunchly supportive of Ukraine and has donated equipment like rally tires to the AFU. Russian aggression is a topic he’s particularly passionate about, not wanting his country to go back down a road as dark as when the Baltics were under Soviet occupation. To mark the four-year point of the so-called “special military operation” on February 24, he stressed the importance of always being prepared because of “eastern ‘neighbors’” like Russia.

This also extends to his views on domestic politics. Before January’s Dakar Rally, he boycotted a send-off ceremony for Lithuanian rally raiders hosted by the government to protest broadcast reforms that critics described as being pro-Russian.

Vanagas is also a reservist in the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces.

“We have to draw conclusions from this. We have to be even better prepared,” he continued. “We have a duty to demand that our decision-makers and service members responsible do their jobs well and efficiently and honestly. That’s all. When we have this attitude, we are invincible.

“Let’s really learn the lessons and move forward and not be afraid of anything and not lack anything. Because we are Vytis.”

After his 14th Dakar Rally ended with a Stage 5 crash, he is focusing on competing for the FIA European Baja Cup.

Featured image credit: Eric Vargiolu / DPPI / ASO