Lithuania Reports Airspace Violation by Russian Military Jets
VILNIUS — Lithuania’s armed forces said Thursday that two Russian military aircraft entered its airspace, marking the latest in a growing series of border provocations along NATO’s eastern flank.
According to the Lithuanian Army, the incursion occurred around 6 p.m. local time near the town of Kybartai, when a Russian SU-30 fighter jet and an IL-78 refueling aircraft crossed roughly 700 meters into Lithuanian territory, remaining there for about 18 seconds before turning back.
In response, two Spanish Eurofighters stationed in Lithuania under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission were scrambled to intercept, the army said in a statement.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda condemned the incursion as a “flagrant violation of international law and Lithuania’s territorial integrity,” stressing that it underscores the urgent need to strengthen air defenses across the region. He added that Lithuania would summon a representative of the Russian Embassy in Vilnius to lodge an official protest.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė assured citizens that the situation was “fully under control,” writing on Facebook that national security forces were monitoring the skies with “vigilance and readiness.”
The incident follows a pattern of Russian airspace violations in recent months that has rattled NATO allies. On September 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets reportedly crossed into Estonian airspace, remaining for twelve minutes before exiting over the Baltic Sea. Moscow has denied deliberate incursions, but NATO sees the repeated violations as deliberate tests of its response capability.
In the wake of the September breach, Estonia requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting and Article 4 consultations within NATO. The alliance later warned Russia against further provocations, vowing to defend “every inch” of allied territory.
Since 2004, NATO has guarded Baltic airspace from bases in Šiauliai, Lithuania, and Ämari, Estonia, rotating allied fighter squadrons to ensure constant patrols near the Russian border.
