By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS, Sept 15 (Reuters) – A NATO fighter jet shot down a drone in Lithuania shortly after midnight on Tuesday, the Lithuanian national crisis management centre said.
The drone, which likely entered from Belarus, was shot down near Pratkunai village in southern Lithuania, near Kaunas, the second-largest city, the centre’s spokesperson said. Its origin is yet to be determined, he said.
A drone alert was issued earlier in the capital Vilnius and surrounding region.
Fighters with the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission have patrolled the skies of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since the Baltic countries joined the alliance in 2004. The mission’s jets shot down stray Ukrainian drones over Estonia in May, and Latvia in June and August.
Military drones straying into the airspace of Russia’s neighbours have stoked concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine is spilling over NATO’s borders.
Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone attacks on Russia, including in the Baltic Sea area, and several Ukrainian military drones have strayed into the airspace of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Ukraine blamed the incidents on Russia affecting the drones’ paths with electromagnetic warfare.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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