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Incursion follows collection of drone incidents and airspace violations which have prompted fears that Russia is testing NATO.
Revealed On 24 Oct 2025
Two Russian navy plane have briefly entered Lithuania’s airspace in what gave the impression to be a brand new provocation from Moscow as European Union leaders mentioned methods to strengthen their defences amid deepening issues the warfare in Ukraine may spill over into their nations.
Lithuania’s armed forces mentioned in a press release that the 2 plane – an Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 refuelling tanker – might have been conducting refuelling workouts within the neighbouring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad once they flew 700 metres (0.43 miles) into the nation at 6pm native time (15:00 GMT) on Thursday.
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“This can be a blatant breach of worldwide regulation and territorial integrity of Lithuania,” mentioned President Gitanas Nauseda on X, including that his nation would summon Russian embassy representatives to protest in opposition to reckless and harmful behaviour.
Two Spanish Eurofighter Hurricane jets from the NATO Baltic Air Police have been scrambled in response and have been patrolling the world, the Lithuanian navy mentioned.
Russia’s Defence Ministry denied the incursion had taken place, saying the flights have been carried out “in strict compliance” with guidelines and “didn’t deviate from their route and didn’t violate the borders of different states”.
The incident occurred after Nauseda and his fellow EU leaders attended a Brussels summit on Thursday, endorsing a plan dubbed Readiness 2030 to make sure that Europe can defend itself in opposition to an outdoor assault by the top of the last decade.
It follows a collection of mysterious drone incidents and airspace violations by Russian warplanes in current weeks which have heightened nervousness that Russian President Vladimir Putin is perhaps testing NATO’s defensive reflexes.
Three Russian navy jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes on September 19 in what was described by Tallinn as an “unprecedented and brazen intrusion”.
9 days earlier than, NATO jets had shot down 20 Russian drones that entered Polish airspace, marking the primary time an alliance member had engaged straight with Russia because the begin of the Ukraine warfare.
Fellow Baltic state leaders Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Latvian Overseas Minister Baiba Braze each expressed full solidarity with Lithuania.
Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz mentioned the incident confirmed that “Russia is under no circumstances calming down or retreating” and that continued vigilance is required.
Thursday’s EU summit additionally noticed the bloc greenlight a serious bundle of sanctions in opposition to Russia for its warfare on Ukraine.
It stopped wanting endorsing the usage of Russian frozen belongings to provide Kyiv a big mortgage. Russia had threatened a “painful response” if its belongings have been seized.
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