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Lithuania Protests Brief Russian Airspace Violation as NATO Jets Intercept

Allies cast the episode as part of a pattern that strengthens calls to bolster regional air defences.

Overview

  • Lithuania says a Su-30 fighter and Il-78 tanker crossed about 700 meters into its airspace near Kybartai for roughly 18 seconds from Russia’s Kaliningrad region.
  • Spanish Eurofighter Typhoons assigned to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing were scrambled and continue to patrol the area.
  • Vilnius summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires after President Gitanas Nausėda condemned the incursion as a breach of international law.
  • Russia’s Defence Ministry denied any violation, asserting the flights stayed over Russian territory and followed planned routes.
  • Officials frame the incident within a recent series of airspace and drone episodes on NATO’s eastern flank, with some noting it coincided with new U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil.