Lithuania, on Thursday, became the latest NATO member to accuse Russia of violating its airspace, warning global allies the incident “confirms the importance of strengthening European air defense readiness.”
Moscow denied that any incursion took place after Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said two Russian military aircraft violated the country’s airspace for under twenty seconds.
The incident comes after NATO members Estonia, Poland, and Romania have all accused Russia of similar acts in recent weeks, fueling concerns that Moscow’s battle with Ukraine could trigger a broader conflict. All of the countries that have accused Moscow of breaching their territorial integrity border Russia or Ukraine and belong to the U.S.-led military alliance that operates under the premise that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all.
“This incident once again shows that Russia is behaving like a terrorist state, disregarding international law and the security of neighboring countries,” Ruginiene said in a Facebook post.
“This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda added in a statement to X. “Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defense readiness.”
A Su-30 fighter and Il-78 refueling tanker aircraft flying from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad entered Lithuanian airspace for roughly 18 seconds, likely during an aerial refueling training mission, according to officials.
NATO scrambled two Spanish fighter jets from its air patrol mission in the Baltic in response to the violation, while Lithuania said it summoned Russian diplomats in Vilnius to address the incident with the foreign ministry.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that Su-30 fighter jets conducted training flights over the Kaliningrad region in strict compliance with the rules.
“The aircraft did not deviate from their flight route or violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring means,” the ministry said.
In September, NATO similarly scrambled jets in response to Russian aircraft violating Estonia and Poland’s airspace. The same month, the Romanian military scrambled two F-16s after a Russian drone on its way to Ukraine was detected in its airspace.
Trump has sought for months to bring Russia to the negotiating table in a bid to end the Ukraine war and ease simmering tensions in the region.
Those efforts have been largely rebuffed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading the White House to shift to a more aggressive stance toward Moscow in recent weeks, including by placing more sanctions on Russian oil.
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Still, Trump suggested this week that he remains hopeful a sweeping peace deal can be reached in the vein of ones he has brokered across the world, most recently between Israel and Hamas.
“Look, it’s a vicious war,” he said. “They’re shooting and they’re killing people. And I think Putin wants it to end, and I think [Ukrainian President Volodmry] Zelensky wants it to end, and I think it’s going to end.”
