An Italian NATO fighter jet shot down an unidentified drone shortly after midnight on Tuesday in Lithuanian airspace. The drone, which reportedly entered from Belarus and was heading west, was shot down near Pratkunai village in central-southern Lithuania, outside the city of Kaunas. An alert had been issued in the capital, Vilnius, and the surrounding region prior to the interception.
Antanas Matutis, commander of the Lithuanian air force, stated that the wreckage had been found and noted that the drone likely was carrying explosives. Lithuania has reported frequent drone incursions since Moscow launched its war against Ukraine, with media reports suggesting the drone came from Russia's ally, Belarus.
The incident occurred less than a day after NATO Chief Rutte and other leaders pledged that strikes close to alliance territory would drive the organization to increase its support for Kyiv. In a separate incident, Poland scrambled fighter jets less than a day after retrieving a suspected Russian drone adrift in its waters.
These incursions on the alliance's eastern flank have raised growing concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine could spill over NATO borders. From the Baltics to Poland, Europe's eastern edge is monitoring the conflict to prevent it from spilling over into its own territory.