Lithuania woke up to exactly what NATO members fear most - a Ukrainian drone on their soil. No casualties, no explosion, but a clear signal that the war in Ukraine has consequences even over countries that are not in it. Lithuanian authorities confirmed the drone was Ukrainian and that it did not detonate on impact. The question now is different - is this the first live test of NATO's Article 5?

The head of Lithuania's Crisis Management Center, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, confirmed the aircraft belonged to the Ukrainian military and that the incident is not isolated. Alongside this came an official directive from President Gitanas Nauseda: "the army must shoot down every drone that enters Lithuanian airspace." That is a change in the rules of engagement, and it is a big one.

Lithuania sits on NATO's eastern flank, bordering Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Geopolitically, it is one of the most sensitive points in the Alliance. Incidents that elsewhere would pass as "technical glitches" are read here as tests. What does someone want to see? How the Alliance reacts. How long it takes to respond. And whether Lithuania will answer alone or together with other members.

The Article 5 question is not theoretical. Article 5 is triggered when a member is attacked - and the definition of "attack" is politics, not just legal language. A Ukrainian drone, meant for other targets, lands on NATO soil. It is not Russian aggression, but it is the fallout of a war that is too close. The Alliance has to decide - ignore it, protest to Kyiv, or rewrite the rules of air defense?

For the Balkans this matters - geopolitics does not respect borders. The war in Ukraine, which many here treat as distant, is already pressing on our neighbors and, indirectly, on us. Bulgaria and Romania, our NATO neighbors, have had their own drone incidents over the past two years - and each one raises the same questions. What is an attack? When does the Alliance step in? And how long can a member state stay "half-invaded" without getting official protection?

Lithuania will ask for clarity. And it will be interesting to see how much Brussels and Washington are willing to give. Our advice to readers following the region: watch how NATO responds to this one. It is a preview of what will happen when the next, more serious incident comes - and it will come.