Two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons flying under NATO command scrambled overnight and brought down a drone over Lithuania, officials said Tuesday, in the first confirmed drone shootdown within the Baltic country’s airspace.
The interception occurred less than a day after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said attacks near alliance territory would prompt the 32-member bloc to step up its support for Ukraine.
The drone was shot down near Pratkūnai, a village roughly 60 miles west of Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius.
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early morning near Pratkunai village, Kaisiadorys district roughly 60 miles northwest of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026.
“Last night, two Italian Eurofighters deployed on NATO Air Defence mission at Siauliai, scrambled and shot down a drone over Lithuanian airspace,” a NATO official told News Media. “The operation was coordinated through NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany. Investigations are ongoing together with national authorities.”
Lithuanian officials said the drone most likely crossed into the country from neighboring Belarus, spending about 30 minutes in Lithuanian airspace before it was intercepted.
Lithuanian soldiers are securing the area where Italian fighter jets during NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission shot down a drone early this morning near Pratkunai village. (AP Photo)
Lithuanian Air Force Commander Antanas Matutis said the recovered drone was “likely” carrying explosives.
Authorities are inspecting the wreckage to establish where the drone came from and what mission it was carrying out.
The drone incident adds to mounting tensions along NATO’s eastern flank.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Rutte said 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, while pledging to strengthen NATO defenses along its eastern flank.
Debris of what, according to the Lithuanian national crisis management centre, was a drone shot down by a NATO fighter jet, lies on the ground near Pratkunai village, Lithuania, September 15, 2026, in this screengrab from a handout video. (Lithuanian Army/Handout via Reuters)
In a separate incident Tuesday, Denmark said a Russian frigate fired flares toward a Danish military helicopter conducting routine surveillance over the Baltic Sea. Denmark summoned the Russian ambassador over the encounter.
Meanwhile, Russia continued drone strikes across Ukraine, killing three people in Kyiv, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv remained ready to support de-escalation if the U.S. could ensure Russia was prepared to stop its attacks. Ukrainian forces also struck an oil refinery in Syzran and targeted a drone production facility in Taganrog, he said.