An Italian fighter jet serving with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) shot down a drone that had entered Lithuanian airspace early on Tuesday (Sept. 15). It is the first time such an aircraft has been downed over the Baltic country, which borders Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave.
The drone came down near the village of Pratkūnai, in the Kaunas region, about 100 kilometres west of the capital, Vilnius. According to Lithuanian authorities, it carried explosives, which bomb-disposal teams found in the wreckage and neutralised.
Half an hour over Lithuanian territory
According to the Lithuanian military, the drone most likely crossed the border from Belarus and spent about 30 minutes in the country's airspace. The head of the crisis management centre said it flew along the outskirts of populated areas before being intercepted.
Its origin is still under investigation. Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said analysis of the debris would determine where it came from, without ruling out a Russian provocation. His Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto, was more direct, according to Reuters: he said Italian pilots had shot down "a threat that most probably came from Russia." Moscow did not immediately comment.
The Italian jets are deployed to Lithuania under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, in which allies take turns protecting the skies of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which have no fighter jets of their own.
Flares fired at a Danish helicopter
Early in the same week, a Russian frigate fired flares at a Royal Danish Air Force helicopter on a routine surveillance flight over the Baltic Sea off the port of Gedser. Denmark's Foreign Ministry called the incident "completely unacceptable" and summoned the Russian ambassador, Vladimir Barbin, who accused the helicopter of "provocative actions," the Associated Press reported.
Reaction across the alliance
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Russia is growing "increasingly reckless" as it continues its war against Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the incident as part of a pattern of "aggression and provocation," and Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Russia's actions threaten the security of all of Europe, according to Al Jazeera.
Both episodes add to a series of drone incursions and military incidents in countries neighbouring Ukraine, which has led European governments to warn that the war risks spilling over into NATO territory.
Reporting drew on the Associated Press, NPR, Al Jazeera and Reuters (via Defense News).
