NATO jets shoot down drone that entered Lithuanian airspace near Belarus border
Lithuania says the drone entered from Belarus early on 15 September, though its origin has not been confirmed
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NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight into Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre said the drone crossed into the country from Belarus, Time News reported, citing the centre.
The drone was downed shortly after midnight near the village of Pratkūnai in Kaunas County, Aerotime reported, citing the same Lithuanian authority. Aerotime said the aircraft is believed to have come from Belarus but that its origin has not been confirmed.
Separately, Belarus said it shot down several drones that went off course due to electronic jamming during an exchange of strikes between Russia and Ukraine, and that it had informed Poland, Reuters reported via Yahoo News.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said incidents of this kind, which he has described as hybrid harassment, will not always draw a public response from the alliance. Tuesday's episode adds to a series of drone incursions reported along the Belarus border in recent years, none of which has so far altered NATO's posture in the region.