Incursion follows collection of drone incidents and airspace violations which have prompted fears that Russia is testing NATO.
Printed On 24 Oct 2025
Two Russian army 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 tips on how to strengthen their defences amid deepening considerations the war in Ukraine may spill over into their nations.
Lithuania’s armed forces mentioned in an announcement that the 2 plane – an Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 refuelling tanker – might have been conducting refuelling workout routines within the neighbouring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad after they flew 700 metres (0.43 miles) into the nation at 6pm native time (15:00 GMT) on Thursday.
Beneficial Tales
record of three gadgetsfinish of record
“It is 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 towards reckless and harmful behaviour.
Two Spanish Eurofighter Storm jets from the NATO Baltic Air Police had been scrambled in response and had been patrolling the realm, the Lithuanian army mentioned.
Russia’s Defence Ministry denied the incursion had taken place, saying the flights had been performed “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 towards an out of doors assault by the tip of the last decade.
It follows a collection of mysterious drone incidents and airspace violations by Russian warplanes in current weeks which have heightened anxiousness that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be testing NATO’s defensive reflexes.
Three Russian army 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 immediately with Russia because the begin of the Ukraine conflict.
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 by no means calming down or retreating” and that continued vigilance is required.
Thursday’s EU summit additionally noticed the bloc greenlight a serious package deal of sanctions towards Russia for its conflict on Ukraine.
It stopped in need of endorsing the usage of Russian frozen assets to provide Kyiv a big mortgage. Russia had threatened a “painful response” if its belongings had been seized.
