NATO shoots down drone over Lithuania

NATO fighter planes shot down a drone over Lithuania, the president of this Atlantic Alliance member country, Gitanas Nauseda, announced on Tuesday. “A drone that violated Lithuanian airspace last night was quickly shot down by NATO fighters,” Mr. Nauseda wrote on the social network X, without specifying which country this drone belonged to.

“As Russia escalates its aggression against Ukraine, such preparation is vital for our region. Together with our NATO allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace,” he added.

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“Our most sincere thanks to our allies, whose presence helps protect our skies and strengthen our security,” wrote Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, also on X, according to whom “NATO remains vigilant, committed and ready.”

Regular intrusions

According to Lithuanian national radio LRT, which cites the National Crisis Management Center (NKVC), the drone fell in a rural area near Lake Kaunas, in the center of the country.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, former Soviet republics sharing a border with Russia, regularly record drone intrusions on their territories. On May 19, a NATO fighter shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia, the first interception of a foreign drone in the skies of a Baltic state by NATO air police since Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to Europeans, Russia is deliberately diverting Ukrainian drones intended to strike industrial installations and oil terminals in the St. Petersburg region, located on the Gulf of Finland, from their trajectory.