NATO jets shoot down drone in Lithuanian airspace near Kaunas

Poland recovers suspected Russian drone from Baltic Sea a day earlier

NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania early Tuesday after authorities issued an alert covering the capital, Vilnius, and the surrounding region, Lithuanian officials said. The drone had entered the country’s airspace from neighboring Belarus.

Lithuanian emergency authorities said the aircraft was destroyed near the central-southern village of Pratkunai outside Kaunas. Lithuania’s crisis management center, as reported by national radio LRT, said the drone came from Belarus and was heading west.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda posted in the early hours of Tuesday that “a drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by Nato fighter jets,” adding that “with Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region.”

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys on Tuesday morning thanked allies “whose presence helps protect our skies and strengthens our security,” adding that “this is best example of allied unity and resolve in action – sending a clear message that Nato stands vigilant, committed, and ready.”

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — all NATO members on the Russian border — have repeatedly experienced drone incursions into their territories since Moscow began its war against Ukraine. A NATO fighter shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia in May, marking the first interception of a foreign drone in the airspace of a Baltic state by NATO air police since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In Poland, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Monday that “the military has located and recovered a drone from the Baltic Sea near the beach in Rusinowo, close to Jaroslawiec,” and that “preliminary inspection indicates that it is a Russian military drone.” A Polish armed forces spokesperson said the drone appeared to be a Gerbera — a cheap long-range aerial drone made of materials like plywood and foam. Gerberas are often used as decoys but can also carry explosives. The drone was recovered by a hydrographic vessel off the coast of Rusinowo.

Poland activated its air force as a preventive measure amid Russian drone attacks on Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has repeatedly warned that NATO countries should expect an increase in provocations from Moscow.

On Sunday, a Russian drone hit a passenger train on Ukraine’s border with Poland, shortly after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other foreign diplomats had used the same line.