Drone shot down by NATO over Lithuania

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President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda. File picture | Photo Credit: Reuters

NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania, the country's President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday (September 15, 2026).

Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — NATO members sharing a long border with Russia — regularly report drone incursions into their territories as part of Moscow's war with Ukraine.

"A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets," Mr. 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 public radio LRT , which cited the National Crisis Management Center (NKVC), the drone crashed in a rural area near Lake Kaunas, in the country's central region.

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.

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 Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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