NATO scrambled aircraft; Russians crossed the border

“This is an obvious violation of international law and Lithuania’s territorial integrity,” Nausėda wrote on X, Reuters reported.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to summon representatives of the Russian embassy in Vilnius to protest the incident.

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Lithuanian armed forces report that two Russian military aircraft—a Su-30 and an Il-78—entered Lithuanian airspace at around 700 meters altitude at approximately 6:00 p.m. local time and left after about 18 seconds.

It is assumed that the planes were conducting refueling exercises in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. Two Spanish fighter jets, part of NATO’s air policing mission, were scrambled and intervened.

The Russian Ministry of Defense denied Lithuania’s claims, stating that the aircraft were flying over Kaliningrad in accordance with regulations and did not violate the borders of any other countries. The Baltic states are already on heightened alert due to Russian attacks on Ukraine, and recent incidents involving drones and airspace violations have further raised concerns that Moscow may be testing NATO’s defensive responses.

Earlier in the day, Nausėda participated in a European Council summit in Brussels, where the “Preparedness 2030” plan was approved to strengthen the EU’s defense capabilities by the end of the decade.