“A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets.” With that line, posted on X, President Gitanas Nauseda announced the first drone ever brought down over Lithuanian territory.
Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre confirmed the interception and said the unmanned craft had come in from Belarus. Allied aircraft destroyed it about 30 minutes later over Kaunas County, west of the capital.
Nauseda thanked allied personnel for what he called a swift response. “With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region,” he said. “Together with our NATO Allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace.”
Part of a wider pattern
The shoot-down came the same week that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a close call in Ukraine. TRT World reported that his private train had to speed toward the Polish border on Monday morning to outrun an incoming drone, which hit a railway line shortly after his convoy passed.
Incursions along NATO’s eastern flank have grown more frequent during the war. In 2025, NATO forces intercepted four Russian drones over Polish territory. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that the incursions were a direct threat and invoked Article 4 consultations, only the eighth time that mechanism has been triggered in the alliance’s history.
