NATO fighters down drone that entered Lithuanian airspace

A drone that entered Lithuanian airspace near Kaunas shortly after midnight on Tuesday was intercepted and destroyed by NATO fighter jets, Lithuanian officials said. The aircraft is believed to have come from the direction of Belarus, although its exact origin remains under investigation, according to a spokesperson for the national crisis management centre.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda posted on X that the drone was destroyed by NATO jets and emphasized the importance of readiness in the region. The Ministry of Defence noted that Lithuanian forces and Italian pilots serving in the NATO Air Defence Mission responded quickly to the incursion.

The incident follows a series of drone sightings in Lithuania, including reports on Sunday of an object that entered from Belarus, crossed the country and later entered Russian airspace. While the September 13 event did not trigger a formal air threat alert, drone incursions have become more frequent across Europe since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NATO aircraft have previously been scrambled to intercept stray Ukrainian drones that entered the airspace of Estonia and Latvia earlier this year.