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Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced on Tuesday that NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over the country.
Nauseda wrote on X that "a drone that violated Lithuania's airspace last night was quickly shot down by NATO jets," without providing details about its origin.
He added, "As Russia intensifies its aggression against Ukraine, this readiness is vital for our region. Lithuania will defend its airspace in cooperation with its NATO allies."
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on X, "We thank our allies whose presence helps protect our skies and enhance our security."
Lithuania's national radio quoted the National Crisis Management Center as saying the drone fell in a rural area near Kaunas Lake in central Lithuania.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, former Soviet republics that share a border with Russia, regularly record drone incursions into their territories.
On May 19, a NATO fighter jet shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia, in the first interception of a foreign drone in the airspace of a Baltic country by the alliance's air police force since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to Europeans, Russia deliberately diverts the course of Ukrainian drones intended to strike industrial facilities and oil terminals in the St. Petersburg region on the Gulf of Finland.
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