The Albany Gazette - Drone shot down by NATO over Lithuania

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.

"A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets," Gitanas Nauseda wrote in a post on X.

"With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region," he added.

According to Lithuanian national radio LRT, citing preliminary data from the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), the drone came from neighbouring Belarus and was heading west.

It fell in a rural area near Lake Kaunas, in the center of the country, the broadcaster added.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys in a post on X thanked allies "whose presence helps protect our skies and strengthens our security".

"This is best example of Allied unity and resolve in action -- sending a clear message that NATO stands vigilant, committed, and ready," he added.

- 'Securing airspace' -

Poland also announced "aviation operations" had commenced in its airspace "due to the activity of Russian Federation's jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory".

These actions are of a "preventive nature" and are aimed at "securing airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions", it added.

The incursion came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy 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 others' energy sites.

Ukrainian forces continued long-range strikes against Russian military targets in Krasnodar Krai overnight, while Russia launched 102 drones at Ukraine.

A NATO fighter shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia in May, the first interception of a foreign drone in the airspace of a Baltic state by NATO's air police since the war began.

Russia has been diverting Ukrainian drones meant to strike industrial facilities and oil terminals in the Saint Petersburg region, located on the Gulf of Finland, according to European officials.

The Lithuanian president said in early July he wanted his country to take part in Western nuclear deterrence against Moscow.

Since then, the country has started the process of lifting the constitutional ban on storing nuclear weapons on its soil.

(P.Clark--TAG)