NATO fighter pilots have shot down a drone that violated Lithuania’s airspace overnight, according to President Gitanas Nausėda.
Authorities believe the drone likely entered from neighbouring Belarus near the southern city of Kaunas shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
“A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets,” President Nausėda wrote in a statement posted on social media.
The origin of the drone has yet to be determined, a spokesperson for the Lithuanian national crisis management centre said.
Drone alerts were sounded across the capital, Vilnius, and the surrounding region earlier on Tuesday.
Lithuania’s armed forces, along with Italian pilots serving in the NATO Air Defence Mission, “showed a swift and responsible response” to the incursion, the Ministry of Defence said.
Nausėda 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 yet commented on the incident.
Lithuania shares a substantial portion of its southern and eastern border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
The incident follows another drone sighting in Lithuania on 13 September, when an object likely entered from Belarus and traversed the country’s territory before crossing into Russian airspace. That episode did not trigger air threat alerts.
Military drone incursions have become increasingly common across Europe since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Poland also reported conducting “aviation operations” in its airspace on Monday night “due to the activity of Russian Federation’s jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory.”
These actions were described as being of a “preventive nature,” aimed at “securing airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions.”
Residents across Vilnius were forced to seek shelter in May after a drone alert was triggered, briefly grounding flights and rail travel.
NATO jets have scrambled on multiple occasions this year to shoot down stray Ukrainian drones that drifted into the Baltic nations of Estonia and Latvia.
Ukraine has attributed the stray drones to Russian electronic warfare systems designed to alter the flight paths of Ukrainian aircraft.
Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia all acceded to NATO in 2004, becoming signatories to Article 5, which stipulates that “an armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against all members.”
