Nato fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace on Monday night, in the first incident of its kind in the country.
The drone was downed near the village of Pratkūnai in the Kaišiadorys district, about 60 miles west of the country’s capital, Vilnius, and near the Kaunas Reservoir, Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre said.
Antanas Matutis, commander of the Lithuanian air force, said that the wreckage had been found, and the drone was “likely” carrying explosives.
Italy’s defence ministry confirmed Italian crews intercepted the “unmanned aircraft” with two Eurofighter F-2000 fighter jets.
In a statement on X, the ministry said this was the second incident involving their jets in a month.
Former Air Force Commander Jonas Marcinkus told Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT the drone was travelling at approximately 127mph.
Kęstutis Budrys, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, said the Nato response was the “best example of Allied unity and resolve in action – sending a clear message that Nato stands vigilant, committed, and ready.”
Responding to the drone incident, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Thanks to the swift and professional actions of Lithuanian and Italian forces, Nato once again demonstrated our readiness to protect our airspace.”We stand united, around the clock, in defence of every inch of Nato territory.”
Lithuanian soldiers searched the site where a drone was intercepted. Credit: AP
The incident comes as Denmark accused a Russian warship of firing emergency flares at one of its helicopters during a “routine” monitoring operation on Monday.
In a statement posted on X, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said: “Reckless action from Russia towards Danish military during a routine overflight yesterday. Russian actions are meant to intimidate and divide. They will not succeed. We will not waver.”
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Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said it was “completely unacceptable”, adding that Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, had been summoned over the incident.
The Kremlin declined to comment Tuesday, with presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that he did not have details of the event.
The incidents occurred less than a day after Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said strikes close to the alliance’s territory would drive the trans-Atlantic organisation to increase its support for Kyiv.
Rutte said strikes “close to Nato territory” showed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror.”
He also pledged to bolster the 32-nation alliance’s own defences along its long eastern border with Russia.
Drones have repeatedly loomed over Lithuania, which shares borders with Belarus, a key ally of Moscow, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Officials in Nato countries including Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Poland have in recent weeks accused Russia of involvement in acts such as drone incursions, sabotage, arson, surveillance of defence facilities and planning to use a drone carrying explosives to attack an airport.
One child was injured after a residential area was hit in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on Monday night, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said.
Previous efforts to broker even a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly fallen apart within hours, with both sides accusing each other of violations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday that Kyiv was “ready to support de-escalation” if the United States could ensure “Russia is genuinely ready to stop this war.”
But in a statement on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said Moscow had continued to attack Ukraine’s energy sector, logistics and critical infrastructure, and that Kyiv had responded by striking an oil refinery in Syzran, a city in western Russia.
“There is no alternative to ending this war. And all forms of pressure on Russia must create the right diplomatic conditions,” Zelenskyy said.
The Kremlin said Tuesday that it considered Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire on energy infrastructure to be “a good idea.”
However, it stressed that strikes on Russian oil refineries were not the root cause of global supply issues for gas or diesel.
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