• NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania, believed to have flown in from Belarus, in response to heightened aggression from Russia towards Ukraine.
• The downed drone was intercepted by Italian Eurofighters near the village of Pratkunai, with no reported casualties or damage in the rural area where it was shot down.
• Lithuania, feeling particularly threatened due to its proximity to Russia and Belarus, is working with NATO Allies to defend its airspace and monitor for potential attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic region.

NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania, President Gitanas Nausėda said early on Tuesday.

The defence ministry in Vilnius said the unmanned aerial vehicle was brought down shortly after midnight by Italian Eurofighters.

The authorities had previously alerted the population of several regions of the Baltic EU and NATO member to a possible threat from the air. No further details on the origin or type of the downed drone were initially available.

" I thank Allied personnel for their swift response," Nausėda wrote on X.

"With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region. Together with our NATO Allies, Lithuania will defend its airspace."

It was reportedly the first time a drone had been shot down over Lithuania.

The drone was shot down over a rural area near the village of Pratkunai, around 50 kilometres south-east of Lithuania's second-largest city Kaunas, according to national crisis management centre chief Vilmantas Vitkauskas.

Based on initial findings, the drone had probably flown into Lithuania from Belarusian territory, he said on Lithuanian radio. There were no reports of casualties or damage so far. Debris from a drone had been found in the area where it was shot down and was now being examined, he said.

Exposed position on NATO's eastern flank

Lithuania borders Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad as well as Belarus, a close ally of Moscow. The country has felt particularly threatened since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Lithuanian government, the country's military intelligence service has information suggesting that Russia could be considering attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic states.

Germany's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, are currently building up a German armoured brigade in Lithuania.

The combat-ready and independently deployable force, comprising 4,800 troops, is expected to be operational by 2027.

NATO monitoring Baltic airspace

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, there have been several drone incidents in Lithuania and the two other Baltic states, Estonia and Latvia. Unmanned missiles used by Kiev to attack targets in north-west Russia have repeatedly entered Baltic airspace by accident and crashed.

Russian-manufactured drones flying in from Belarus have also previously entered Lithuanian airspace.

Larger NATO states take turns providing air surveillance for Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which have no combat jets of their own.

The Italian fighter jets are based at Šiauliai military airfield in Lithuania. They had last shot down a drone that had flown from Belarus into the airspace of neighbouring Latvia in August. A drone has also been shot down by NATO combat jets over Estonia.