A drone that entered Lithuanian airspace in the early hours of Tuesday morning was shot down by NATO fighter jets between the cities of Vilnius and Kaunas, Lithuanian authorities confirmed. Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center (NKVC) said the drone likely came from neighboring Belarus, an ally of Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine, and was flying west when it was shot down by an Italian plane. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda thanked the military alliance for its “quick response.” “With Russia escalating its aggression against Ukraine, such preparation is vital for our region,” he wrote on social media. “Together with our NATO allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace.” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said NATO’s response sent “a clear message that NATO is alert, committed and prepared.” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda thanked the NATO military alliance for its “quick response” Image: Jouni Porsanger/Lehtikuva/REUTERS What do we know about the latest drone incident? Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the NKVC, told Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT that the drone probably entered from Belarus and flew along the outskirts of populated areas for about 30 minutes before being intercepted. The Lithuanian military released video of the crash site near the village of Pratkunai, near Lithuania’s second-largest city, Kaunas, and about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the capital, Vilnius. Images showed debris scattered on the grass. Some of the pieces appeared to be made of wood and others appeared charred. Lithuanian air force commander Antanas Matutis said the drone was “probably” carrying explosives. Lithuania: Was the drone from Russia or Ukraine? Authorities have not indicated whether the drone was Russian or Ukrainian. While Russia has been launching almost daily drone and missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of its large-scale invasion more than four years ago, Ukraine has also been responding with drone attacks of its own. Ukrainian drones, which often pass close to the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia en route to targets in northwest Russia, have at times been blocked by Russian defenses and diverted off course into NATO airspace. Fighter jets from NATO’s Baltic Air Defense mission have patrolled the skies over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since the Baltic countries joined the alliance in 2004. The mission’s jets shot down stray Ukrainian drones over Estonia in May and over Latvia in June and August. The Lithuanian military said Tuesday’s incident marked the first time a drone was shot down in its airspace. The drone fell about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. Image: Lithuanian Army/Handout/REUTERS How has NATO responded? Tuesday’s incident came less than 24 hours after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said attacks “close to alliance territory” would lead the transatlantic organization to increase its support for Ukraine. “Russia is becoming increasingly reckless as its terrible war against Ukraine continues,” he said, adding that the drone strikes and incursions near NATO territory showed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “desperation” and “desire to sow fear and terror.” On Tuesday, Poland, a NATO ally and Lithuania’s neighbor, also announced that it had begun “aviation operations” in its airspace “due to the activity of jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian Federation conducting attacks on Ukrainian territory.” These actions are of a “preventive nature” and aim to “secure airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions,” Warsaw authorities said. The German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, are also forming a German armored brigade in Lithuania. The combat-ready, independently deployable force, consisting of 4,800 soldiers, is expected to be operational in 2027. How the Baltic States are Responding to Russia’s Hybrid Warfare To view this video, please enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Natalie Muller If you trust our team for trustworthy reporting, please take a moment to select us as your preferred source on Google by clicking here and pressing the “star” button or “preferred.” so you always see our verified news first.
