NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania, the country’s President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday (September 15, 2026).
Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — NATO members sharing a long border with Russia — regularly report drone incursions into their territories as part of Moscow’s war with Ukraine. Nauseda wrote in a post on X. A NATO fighter shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonia in May, the first interception of a foreign drone in the airspace of a Baltic state by NATO’s air police since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets,” Mr. “With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region,” he added. Which cited the National Crisis Management Center (NKVC), the drone crashed in a rural area near Lake Kaunas, in the country’s central region, according to Lithuanian public radio LRT . Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys in a post on X thanked allies “whose presence helps protect our skies and strengthens our security”. “This is best example of Allied unity and resolve in action — sending a clear message that NATO stands vigilant, committed, and ready,” he added.
