NATO jets down drone over Lithuania; Russian frigate fires flares at Danish helicopter

NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight, officials said Tuesday, less than a day after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that strikes close to the alliance’s territory would drive the trans-Atlantic organization to increase its support for Kyiv. The drone was downed near the village of Pratkūnai in the Kaišiadorys district, about 60 miles west of the country’s capital, Vilnius, and near the Kaunas Reservoir, Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center said Tuesday. Lithuania’s military said that the incident marked the first time that a drone had been shot down in the country’s airspace. Authorities didn’t comment on the drone’s origin or purpose, saying the incident needed further investigation. Meanwhile, a Russian frigate fired two flares toward a Danish military helicopter in international waters off Denmark on Monday, narrowly missing the aircraft, the Nordic NATO member’s military said. The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after incidents involving gas pipeline outages, airspace violations and drone sightings since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, all of which have increased tensions between Moscow and the West. The Fennec military helicopter had been on a routine mission to photograph the Russian frigate, the Danish defense command said in a statement late on Monday. One of the flares — pyrotechnics usually used as a warning signal at sea — passed close to the helicopter, the defense command said. The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The incidents follows a speech by Rutte on Monday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he said that strikes “close to NATO territory” showed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror.” “Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine,” Rutte said. He also pledged to bolster the 32-nation alliance’s own defenses along its long eastern border with Russia. The menace of drones has repeatedly loomed over the skies of Lithuania, which shares borders with Belarus, a key ally of Moscow, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Antanas Matutis, commander of the Lithuanian air force, said that the wreckage had been found, and the drone “likely” was carrying explosives. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the crisis center, told Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT that the drone most likely entered from Belarus. It remained in Lithuanian airspace for about 30 minutes and flew along the outskirts of populated areas before being intercepted, he said. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the incident at sea was serious but not surprising, calling it part of a pattern in which an increasingly aggressive Russia has intensified its hybrid warfare against Europe and is testing NATO. “Russia wants to sow fear and discord. Our answer is to stand closer together and strengthen the defence of Denmark and Europe,” she said in a statement. Hybrid attacks are typically classified as incidents of aggression that fall short of acts of war. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the incident “unacceptable” and said it could have endangered human lives. “Denmark is working to ensure that all shipping can pass peacefully through Danish waters, but Russia is gradually moving the line for what it considers acceptable behaviour,” he said in a statement. He said he had summoned Russia’s ambassador to Denmark for a meeting. The Danish straits are the main sea route in and out of the Baltic Sea for commercial and military shipping. They are also a major artery for global oil shipments, including from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions. Denmark‘s Defence Intelligence Service said last year that Russian warships had repeatedly sailed on collision courses with Danish vessels, targeted Danish helicopters and ships with tracking radars, and pointed weapons at them in the straits. Russia has dismissed accusations over such incidents and repeatedly denied carrying out hybrid attacks in Europe.