Two Spanish fighter jets on NATO air policing duties were dispatched after Russian aircraft intruded into Lithuanian airspace.
The Lithuanian military reported that around 6:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, Russian planes—an SU-30 and an IL-78—penetrated about 765 yards into Lithuanian territory. The Associated Press noted that the aircraft retreated after approximately 18 seconds.
“This evening, Russian military planes breached Lithuanian airspace, flagrantly violating international law and Lithuania’s territorial integrity. This incident underscores the critical need to bolster European air defense capabilities,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda expressed on X.
Following Lithuania’s accusations against Russia for the airspace breach, NATO responded by dispatching two jets.
Nausėda further stated that Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs would summon Russian embassy officials in Vilnius to formally protest this “reckless and dangerous” incident. The ministry later confirmed on X that it had summoned the Russian charge d’affaires to object to the airspace intrusion.
“Russia must halt its aggressive conduct and adhere to international law and the borders of its neighboring nations,” the ministry asserted in a post on X.
Russia’s defense ministry denied Lithuania’s claim, saying that SU-30 fighter jets were conducting training flights over the Kaliningrad region in strict compliance with the rules, the AP reported.
“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, according to the AP.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on Dec. 19, 2024. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
Baltic nations have been on heightened alert amid Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, according to the AP. The outlet added that the recent airspace incursions have fueled fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be testing NATO, though Moscow has denied this.
Poland, Denmark and Romania, which are all NATO member states, reported airspace violations by Russian drones in the last few months. In August, Romania was forced to scramble F-16 jets after Russia carried out a strike just half a mile from its territory as U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin ahead of the Kremlin leader’s Alaska summit with President Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, Trump called off a meeting with Putin that was set to take place in Budapest, Hungary. While the White House did not rule out the possibility of a future summit, Trump has criticized Putin for his lack of action to move toward peace with Ukraine.
President Donald Trump canceled a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. (Getty Images)
Trump “feels as though, unfortunately, from the Russian side as of late, he has not seen enough interest in enough action in terms of moving the ball forward toward peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday.
“And so a meeting between these two leaders is not completely off the table. I think the president and the entire administration hope that one day that can happen again, but we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome out of that meeting, and that it’s a good use of the president’s time,” she added.
While sitting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that the meeting was canceled and that “it didn’t feel right” to him.
“It just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump said Wednesday. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get, so I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”
No plans for a future meeting have been announced since the cancellation of the summit in Hungary.
