NATO Fighter Jets Shoot Down Drone As Russia Steps Up Threats - Newsweek
NATO fighter jets destroyed a drone that entered Lithuania's airspace on Tuesday morning, the country's president said.
Lithuanian authorities said the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had entered the country's airspace from neighboring Belarus, Russia's closest ally.
It flew over Lentvaris near the capital, Vilnius, before being shot down by two alliance aircraft near the city of Kaunas.
Italian fighter jets scrambled from Šiauliai at 12.20 a.m. and shot down the drone in Lithuanian airspace, Lithuania’s armed forces said. There were air raid sirens in parts of the country and a temporary airspace closure and authorities are still searching for the drone wreckage with no immediate information available as to what type of UAV was intercepted.
"With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region," Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on X on Monday night. "Together with our NATO Allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace."
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Other NATO members were on high alert overnight Monday following Russian drone attacks on Ukraine.
Poland’s defense ministry said Tuesday its ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems were put on high alert due to the threat posed by Russian drone attacks on western Ukraine, which the country borders.
Meanwhile, Romania’s defense ministry said two of its F-16 aircraft were deployed to monitor drones detected near the country’s border at around 3.10 a.m. Tuesday, although none entered the country’s airspace.
Further north, Denmark’s Armed Forces said a Russian frigate fired two flares toward a Danish military helicopter in international waters off Gedser on Monday which had been photographing the ship.
Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus said that the incident was “serious” and was “an expression of the boundaries having been moved regarding the willingness to take risks from the Russian side,” Danish News reported.
Countries along NATO's eastern flank have raised concerns about the Ukraine war spilling over into the alliance's territory. Russian drones have violated NATO territory before in moves that will test the alliance's resolve.
On Sunday, a Russian drone struck a train that was within two miles of the Polish border as it travelled between Kyiv and Warsaw, Ukrainian railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) reported. No passengers were injured but Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the incident showed that Russia was “knocking directly on the doors of the EU and NATO," adding that "Russian barbarians are at your gate, dear partners."
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.
