NATO fighter pilots shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace near Kaunas from Belarus around midnight on Tuesday, according to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. This marks the first time NATO has taken such action in Lithuania’s airspace. Alerts were issued across Vilnius and surrounding areas, instructing residents to seek safety. The UK's Defence Secretary praised the quick response by Lithuanian and Italian forces, emphasizing NATO's readiness to defend member states' territories against threats.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 15, a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone near Pratkunai village in southern Lithuania, close to Kaunas city. The incident happened shortly after midnight and was likely from Belarus. Lithuanian officials stated it's the first time a drone has been shot down over their airspace, with further investigation needed regarding the drone’s origin.
The shooting follows similar incidents reported earlier this year where stray Ukrainian drones were intercepted over neighboring Baltic states, raising concerns about Russia's war in Ukraine spilling into NATO territory. Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to target each other's energy infrastructure despite an earlier call by U.S. President Donald Trump for a cessation of such attacks.
Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas thanked Italy for its response, while Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed the downing involved an Italian fighter jet as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Defence mission. The event underscores growing tensions and Russian aggression near NATO borders.
Written for “NATO Drones Incidents Europe” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 19 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
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No political leaning scored for article 10329 · logged 2026-09-15
- Published
Nato fighter pilots have shot down a drone that entered Lithuania's airspace overnight, the Lithuanian president said.
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president → publish → airspace
Authorities said the drone likely entered southern Lithuania, near the second-largest city of Kaunas, from neighbouring Belarus shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
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drone → say → Tuesday
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda wrote in a statement on X: "A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets.
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that → write → jets
"
The origins of the drone are yet to be determined, a spokesperson for the Lithuanian national crisis management centre said.
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spokesperson → determine → centre
It is thought to be the first time that a Nato jet has shot down a drone in Lithuanian airspace.
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jet → think → airspace
Drone alerts sounded across the capital Vilnius and surrounding region earlier on Tuesday.
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alerts → sound → Tuesday
Shortly after midnight local time (21:00 GMT), alerts were sent to phones in the region, warning of a potential drone incursion and telling residents to "find a safe place" and "wait for the all clear".
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alerts → send → clear
Lithuania's armed forces and Italian pilots serving in the Nato Air Defence Mission "showed a swift and responsible response" to the drone incursion, Lithuania's Ministry of Defence said.
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Ministry → serve → Defence
Nausėda's post on social media added: "With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region.
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readiness → add → region
Together with our NATO Allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace."
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Lithuania → defend → airspace
Moscow has not commented on the incident.
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Moscow → comment → incident
The UK's Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: "Thanks to the swift and professional actions of Lithuanian and Italian forces, Nato once again demonstrated our readiness to protect our airspace.
"
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Nato → say → airspace
We stand united, around the clock, in defence of every inch of Nato territory."
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We → stand → territory
The drone debris, scattered widely, will be collected and examined to try to determine who it belonged to, whether it was armed - and whether it was launched at Lithuania deliberately or perhaps strayed off course.
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it → scatter → course
Lithuania, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, shares a large part of its southern and eastern border with Belarus, a key Russian ally.
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Lithuania → share → Belarus
Drone sightings were reported in Lithuania on Sunday.
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sightings → report → Sunday
The crisis management centre later said an object had "likely" entered from Belarus and travelled across the country's territory before entering the airspace of Russia.
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object → say → Russia
The 13 September incident did not trigger air threat alerts.
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incident → trigger → alerts
Military drone incursions have become increasingly common across Europe since the beginning of Russia's full-scale of invasion of Ukraine.
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incursions → become → Ukraine
Poland also announced there had been "aviation operations" in its airspace on Monday night "due to the activity of Russian Federation's jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory".
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Poland → announce → 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.
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it → aim → regions
Residents in Lithuania's capital were forced to take shelter across Vilnius in May after a drone alert was triggered, briefly grounding flights and rail travel.
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alert → force → flights
Nato jets have scrambled multiple times to shoot down stray Ukrainian drones that have crossed into Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia this year.
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that → scramble → countries
Ukraine has blamed the stray drones on Russian electronic warfare, technology designed to change the flight paths of Ukrainian drones.
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Ukraine → blame → drones
Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia all joined Nato in 2004, becoming signatories to the Article 5 provision that states "an armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against all members".
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attack → join → members
The Aporia
