NATO Downs First Drone in Lithuanian Airspace — SkimNews
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- NATO fighter jets shot down a drone in Lithuanian airspace—the first such incident in the country—near Pratkunai village about 100 km west of Vilnius, with Lithuanian officials saying it likely entered from Belarus and "likely" carried explosives.
- Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre said the drone flew for about 30 minutes along the outskirts of populated areas before being intercepted, and its wreckage was recovered.
- NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said strikes "close to NATO territory" showed Putin's "desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror," pledging to strengthen the 32-member alliance's defenses along its long eastern border with Russia.
- Russian drone strikes wounded eight people in Kyiv since the start of Tuesday, including two hurt at petrol stations, while Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 222 Ukrainian drones overnight.
- A "massive" Ukrainian drone attack sparked several fires in Taganrog, damaging two apartment buildings, three private homes, an educational institution, and a site belonging to Russian e-retailer Ozon.
- President Trump claimed in a Monday social media post that Russia and Ukraine had agreed "not to hit" each other's energy infrastructure, but Russia did not immediately comment and previous ceasefire efforts have repeatedly collapsed within hours.
Why it matters: This is the first NATO drone shootdown in Lithuania, a kinetic step-up on the alliance's eastern flank, paired with Rutte's pledge to reinforce NATO's border defenses. The timing undercuts Trump's unverified social-media claim of a Russia-Ukraine energy-infrastructure ceasefire—Moscow didn't comment, and overnight each side was still exchanging drones at scale (222 Ukrainian drones downed by Russia alone).
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