Nato fighter jets shot down a drone that violated Lithuanian airspace overnight, officials said Tuesday, a day after the alliance’s chief warned that strikes near its territory would only strengthen support for Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Lithuanian military officials said it was the first time a drone had been shot down over the Baltic state, though authorities gave no details on its origin or purpose, saying the matter required further investigation, says AP.
The drone was intercepted near the village of Pratkūnai, roughly 100 kilometres west of the capital Vilnius, close to the Kaunas Reservoir, the country’s National Crisis Management Centre said. Several Nato members, including Germany, Denmark, Britain and Poland, have accused Moscow in recent weeks of involvement in drone incursions, sabotage, arson, surveillance of military sites and an alleged plot to strike an airport with an explosive-laden drone.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said Monday that strikes near alliance territory reflected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “desperation” and his wish to spread fear, adding that Moscow was becoming increasingly reckless as its war on Ukraine dragged on. He pledged to reinforce the 32-member alliance’s defences along its eastern flank bordering Russia and its ally Belarus.
Lithuania, which borders both Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, has faced repeated drone alarms. In May, residents of Vilnius were told to shelter and the president and prime minister moved to secure locations after drone activity was detected near the Belarusian border. Stray Ukrainian drones have also strayed into Baltic airspace before, including one shot down over southern Estonia by a Nato jet in May.
Lithuanian air force commander Antanas Matutis said wreckage recovered from the latest drone suggested it had likely been carrying explosives. Crisis centre chief Vilmantas Vitkauskas told public broadcaster LRT the drone probably entered from Belarus, remaining in Lithuanian airspace for about 30 minutes and skirting populated areas before being shot down.
Separately, Denmark’s foreign ministry said a Danish military helicopter came under fire from flares while conducting routine surveillance of a Russian frigate near the Baltic port of Gedser, calling the incident unacceptable and summoning Russia’s ambassador in protest.
The developments came as Russian drone strikes continued across Ukraine despite a social media post from US President Donald Trump on Monday claiming Moscow and Kyiv had agreed not to target each other’s energy infrastructure. Trump gave no further details, and Russia did not immediately respond; previous partial ceasefire efforts have collapsed within hours amid mutual accusations of violations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was open to supporting de-escalation if Washington could guarantee Russia was genuinely prepared to end the war, though he said Tuesday that Moscow had kept striking Ukraine’s energy grid, logistics and infrastructure, prompting a Ukrainian strike on an oil refinery in Syzran, western Russia. He said pressure on Moscow must help create the right diplomatic conditions for ending the conflict.
Ukraine’s state emergency service said Russian strikes on Kyiv had killed one person and wounded seven others, hitting petrol stations in the capital, while two more people died in strikes on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces downed 222 Ukrainian drones overnight, while a Ukrainian drone attack sparked fires in Taganrog, damaging homes, an educational institution and warehouses, according to regional governor Yuri Slyusar. Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had targeted a drone production site in the city.
Separately, Ukraine’s parliament voted Tuesday to dismiss prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko, who had offered his resignation on 7 September amid a corruption investigation into his office, as graft scandals continue to weigh on Zelensky’s popularity.
