NATO Jet Downs Drone Over Lithuania

An Italian fighter flying for NATO shot down a suspected Russian drone in Lithuanian airspace on Tuesday after the aircraft crossed from Belarus, officials in Vilnius said, the latest incident European leaders have cast as the Ukraine war pressing onto alliance territory.

Lithuania’s national crisis management centre said the drone entered from Belarus and was destroyed near Pratkunai in the centre of the country, just north of Kaunas. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said on social media that it was carrying an explosive. Debris was being examined to establish whether it came from Russia or elsewhere. Russia had not commented in the first hours.

Kaunas, after meeting crews at the site, said the intercept showed “the value of the Atlantic alliance” and “what it means to be an ally.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the episode part of a pattern of “aggression and provocation” against Europe. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul blamed Moscow and said NATO states would not be intimidated.

The shoot-down followed a Baltic confrontation on Monday in which Russia fired flares at a Danish military helicopter watching a Russian warship. Poland’s Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on Tuesday that “recent days show that Russia’s actions threaten the security of the entire Europe.”

On Sunday, Russian drones struck a train close to the Polish border minutes after a group of current and former officials from Britain, the United States and Europe had passed through the station. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte then promised more support for Ukraine.

Kaunas told a news conference that the war had spread and that such incidents would continue without a negotiated settlement. He said President Vladimir Putin “does not want” one. Attribution of the wreckage, and Moscow’s account, remain open.