A drone that crossed into Lithuanian airspace overnight was destroyed by Nato fighter jets, President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday. Authorities said it entered southern Lithuania, near the second-largest city of Kaunas, from neighbouring Belarus shortly after midnight.
“A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets,” Nauseda wrote on X. It is thought to be the first time a Nato jet has shot down a drone in Lithuanian airspace.
Drone alerts sounded across the capital Vilnius and the surrounding region. Shortly after midnight local time (21:00 GMT), alerts were sent to phones warning of a potential incursion and telling residents to “find a safe place” and “wait for the all clear”.
Lithuania’s armed forces and Italian pilots serving in the Nato Air Defence Mission responded to the incursion, the country’s Ministry of Defence said. The origin of the drone has yet to be determined, a spokesperson for the national crisis management centre said. Debris scattered widely will be collected and examined to establish who it belonged to, whether it was armed, and whether it was launched deliberately or strayed off course.
Lithuania, a supporter of Ukraine, shares much of its southern and eastern border with Belarus, a key Russian ally. Moscow has not commented on the incident.
Drone sightings were reported in Lithuania on 13 September. The crisis management centre later said an object had likely entered from Belarus and travelled across the country’s territory before crossing into Russian airspace. The incident did not trigger air threat alerts.
Military drone incursions have become more common across Europe since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Poland reported “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”, describing the actions as preventive. Nato jets have scrambled repeatedly to down stray drones crossing into Estonia and Latvia this year.
Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia joined Nato in 2004, making them signatories to the Article 5 provision that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all. UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We stand united, around the clock, in defence of every inch of Nato territory.”