Nato Jets Down Russian Drone in Lithuania's Airspace After Incursion

Lithuania's president shared a drone that entered the country's airspace overnight was destroyed The incident happened shortly after midnight on Tuesday. And Lithuania shares a large part of its southern and eastern border with Belarus, a key Russian ally.

Drone That Just Entered Lithuanian

"A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed " President Gitanas Nausėda wrote in a statement on X. Lithuania's armed forces and Italian pilots serving in the Nato Air Defence Mission showed a swift and responsible response to the drone incursion, Lithuania's Ministry of Defence said.

The drone likely entered southern Lithuania, near the second-largest city of Kaunas, from neighbouring Belarus. Drone alerts sounded across the capital Vilnius and surrounding region earlier on Tuesday. Lithuania's Ministry of Defence confirmed that the drone was shot down.

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Lithuania Joined Nato 2004 Becoming

Lithuania joined Nato in 2004, becoming a signatory to the Article 5 provision that states "an armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against all members". The country has seen increased military activity along its borders since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Military drone incursions have become increasingly common across Europe.

Nausėda's post on social media added: "With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region. Together with our NATO Allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace." Moscow has not commented on the incident. Lithuania's leaders take shelter during drone air alert.

The 13 September incident did not trigger air threat alerts. Drone sightings were reported in Lithuania on Sunday. The crisis management centre later shared an object had "likely" entered from Belarus and travelled across the country's territory before entering the airspace of Russia.

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Nato jets have scrambled multiple times to shoot down stray Ukrainian drones that have crossed into Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia this year. Ukraine has blamed the stray drones on Russian electronic warfare, technology designed to change the flight paths of Ukrainian drones.