Lithuania urges NATO defence after Russian drone incursion

Lithuania has called on NATO to strengthen allied air defences after a Russian military drone violated its airspace for the second time in less than a month.

According to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, the unmanned aircraft crossed into Lithuanian territory on 28 July and remained undetected for several days. The breach follows a similar incident earlier this summer and comes amid wider concerns over Russian aerial incursions into NATO territory.

“Last Monday, a Russian military drone violated Lithuanian airspace,” Budrys said. “This marks the second such incident in less than a month. Similar airspace violations have also been reported recently by other allies.”

He confirmed that he and Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė had appealed directly to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, requesting “immediate measures to enhance air defence capabilities in Lithuania and accelerate the full implementation of the rotational air defence model.”

Šakalienė said the drone had likely been directed toward Kyiv but may have been thrown off course by Ukrainian defences.

“While currently there is no reason to believe that the drone was deliberately launched into Lithuanian territory, we absolutely must respond to the fullest extent,” she said. Authorities believe the drone’s presence in Lithuanian airspace was inadvertent, but the investigation remains ongoing.

Responding to the incident, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance was treating the violation with the utmost seriousness.

“NATO takes these incidents very seriously. We remain vigilant and ready to defend every inch of NATO territory,” Hart said in a statement.

The incident has added urgency to ongoing NATO efforts to strengthen air and missile defence coverage along its eastern flank, particularly through the rotational deployment model announced at the 2023 Vilnius Summit.