Lithuania urges NATO to strengthen air defenses after Russian drone breach

Lithuania is calling on NATO to urgently bolster its air defenses after a Russian drone violated the country’s airspace last week, the London-based newspaper The Guardian reports.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kęstutis Budrys and Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė have appealed to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, requesting “immediate measures to enhance Lithuania’s air defense capabilities.”

Russian drones reportedly breached Lithuanian airspace twice in July — on July 10 and again on July 28.

“These repeated incidents represent an alarming sign of the spillover of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine onto NATO territory,” Budrys said. “We cannot compromise the security of our country and citizens, nor the integrity of NATO airspace. We must remain vigilant, as the threat is real and growing.”

A drone entered Lithuania from Belarus on July 28 and was later found and neutralized at the Gaižiūnai military training area. Authorities said the drone had a live payload.

“While the leading theory is that this was a disoriented drone that ended up in our territory… the situation is serious regardless,” said Defense Minister Šakalienė. “We have no concrete evidence that it was intentionally directed at Lithuania.”

Lithuania has proposed that NATO consider deploying “certain additional, possibly even experimental technologies” to the country to test them under real and changing conditions.

“We’re asking for the deployment of low-cost, experimental counter-drone systems,” Šakalienė said.

Budrys said that the issue affects not only Lithuania’s security but the integrity of NATO and the European Union’s airspace as a whole.