From Breitbart: Lithuania has complained of a Russian incursion into its airspace of a pair of jets leaving Kaliningrad, the latest such violation in an apparently rising pace of events in recent weeks.
Two aircraft — a jet fighter and an aerial refuelling tanker jet — were intercepted by NATO Eurofighter Typhoons on the verge of Lithuanian airspace on Thursday. The interception comes amid discussion between NATO partners on how to deal with the rising pace of violations of the alliance’s airspace, including by manned jets and by drones.
The President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda made a statement on the jets in which he said he strongly condemned the flights. He called them a “crude violation of international law and the territorial sovereignty of Lithuania” and stated “we have to react to this”.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda condemned a “blatant breach” of international law and urged stronger European air defense, including the much-debated “European Drone Wall” to counter Russia’s low-intensity aerial threats.
Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, cautioned against fixating on drones at the expense of jet air defenses, calling an impenetrable “drone wall” unrealistic. The debate over when NATO could down Russian aircraft intruding into alliance airspace has intensified after Poland shot down several large Russian drones last month.
Clarifying the position in remarks in Washington, D.C. this week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said it was, of course, possible for Russian jets to be shot down. Still, unless they were posing a direct threat, they would be intercepted and escorted away instead, fully stating:
“This is not new, this happened in the Soviet days, it now also happens under President Putin. It’s got to stop, but NATO has reacted, and it is necessary — and let me make the point again, because there was some misunderstanding the last people of weeks. If necessary, NATO can take down these planes if they pose a threat. If they do not post a threat they will be intercepted and gently be guided outside [NATO] airspace.”
While some NATO members, including Poland, accused Russia of deliberate airspace violations, Rutte struck a more measured tone, saying of the recent drone and jet incidents: “As far as we can establish it was not intentional, but it was anyway reckless and unacceptable.”
This evening, Russian military planes violated Lithuanian air space. This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania. Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defence readiness.@LithuaniaMFA will summon Russian… pic.twitter.com/0GS6OrKaRx
— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) October 23, 2025
