Italian fighter jets shoot down drone over Lithuania

Italian NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuania’s airspace over Kaišiadorys district early Tuesday, LRT reported. Lithuanian leaders thanked the Italian troops and called for stronger air defence.

“This night we were convinced that Lithuania’s air defence works. The drone that entered the country’s airspace was detected, intercepted and destroyed in time by NATO fighter jets,” President Gitanas Nausėda wrote on Facebook.

Nausėda said Russia’s continuing expansion of its war against Ukraine could lead to more such incidents. He said Lithuania would continue strengthening its air defence capabilities and seek new ways to protect the country’s population.

The president also announced that he would convene the State Defence Council on Wednesday to discuss the development of air defence. The council comprises the country’s leaders and heads of the national defence system.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius, who is visiting Ukraine, also stressed the need to strengthen Lithuania’s air defence. He thanked the Italian air defence mission for neutralising the drone and said Ukraine’s experience showed that air defence was becoming increasingly important in Lithuania as well.

“We will really need to move forward together with the air force and pool our efforts so that we can defend our country’s skies,” Sinkevičius said.

According to BNS, the drone entered Lithuania from Belarus and was shot down by Italian fighter jets stationed in Šiauliai near the Kruonis pumped-storage hydropower plant. Residents of Vilnius and Kaunas counties received alerts about a possible air threat while the drone was flying over Lithuanian territory.

Authorities have issued warnings about possible air threats in Lithuania in recent months as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, but this was the first time a drone was shot down over the country. Similar incidents had previously occurred in Latvia and Estonia.

Last Sunday, residents in parts of southeastern Lithuania were warned of a possible air threat after radar detected what was later determined to be a flock of birds. On the same day, authorities near Varėna detected an object crossing Lithuanian territory and possibly entering Russia’s Kaliningrad region. No air threat was declared because there was insufficient data.