ERBIL () - NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace from the direction of Belarus in the early hours of Tuesday near Pratkūnai village in Kaunas County, in the latest aerial incursion on the alliance's eastern flank as Russia's war against Ukraine continues to generate spillover security incidents across NATO's border states, hours after a Russian drone struck a Ukrainian train station moments after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had departed the site, as reported.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda confirmed the incident on X, saying: "A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets,"thanking Allied personnel for their "swift response."
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense confirmed that Italian Air Force Typhoon fighters, deployed at Šiauliai Air Base as part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, shot down the drone. The aircraft is believed to have entered from Belarus, although its origin has not yet been established. It was intercepted near the Kruonis hydroelectric power plant in Kaunas County, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre confirmed.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys credited the interception to the strength of collective defence, thanking the allies whose air presence protects Baltic skies and reinforces regional security. NATO stands "vigilant, committed, and ready,"he said.
Simultaneously, Poland announced that aviation operations had commenced in its airspace due to the activity of Russian Federation jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory, describing the actions as preventive and aimed at securing airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions.
Boris Johnson Narrowly Escapes Russian Drone Strike at Ukrainian Border Station
The Lithuanian interception came hours after a Russian drone struck a train station on the Ukrainian border that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had visited and departed just minutes earlier, as reported on Tuesday. Johnson had been visiting Ukraine as part of a solidarity trip when the Russian drone struck the station shortly after his departure, in what Ukrainian officials described as a deliberate targeting of infrastructure used by high-profile foreign visitors. The incident underlined the continued risk facing foreign dignitaries and international figures who travel to Ukraine and the proximity of Russian drone strikes to sites of diplomatic and political significance.
The incursion came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was ready for de-escalatory steps if Russia did the same, after US President Donald Trump announced that the foes had agreed to stop targeting each other's energy sites. Ukrainian forces continued long-range strikes against Russian military targets in Krasnodar Krai overnight, while Russia launched 102 drones at Ukraine.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, NATO members sharing a long border with Russia, regularly report drone incursions since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Tuesday's interception follows a false alarm on Sunday when NATO jets launched from Šiauliai identified a flock of birds as the object behind a yellow air alert that suspended traffic at Vilnius Airport for 38 minutes.
The pattern of drone incursions into NATO territory, combined with the Boris Johnson station strike and Russia's mass drone campaign against Ukraine, reflects a sustained Russian aerial strategy that NATO's eastern members are increasingly treating as tests of the alliance's resolve and readiness rather than accidental byproducts of the Ukraine war.
