NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania during the previous night, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said early this morning.
“The drone that violated Lithuanian airspace last night was quickly shot down by NATO fighter jets,” Nauseda wrote on the X platform, without specifying which country the drone belonged to.
The President of Lithuania added that, because Russia is intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is of vital importance for the region.
“My sincerest thanks to our allies, whose presence helps protect our skies and strengthen our security,” wrote Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budris on X, adding that NATO remains “vigilant, committed, and ready.”
According to Lithuanian national radio LRT, citing the national crisis management center, the drone crashed in a rural area near Lake Kaunas in the center of the country.
Lithuanian radio reported that it is believed the drone came from Belarus.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, former Soviet republics bordering Russia, regularly experience drone incursions into their territories.
A NATO fighter jet shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia on May 19, which was the first interception of a foreign drone in the Baltic state’s airspace since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
European Union officials believe that Russia is deliberately redirecting drones used by Ukrainians to target industrial facilities and oil terminals in the St. Petersburg region in the Gulf of Finland.
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