Tag: lithuania

NATO Jets Scrambled Over Lithuania After Russian Aircraft Breach Airspace

NATO member Lithuania on Thursday alleged that a pair of Russian jets violated its sovereign airspace, in what the government quickly condemned as a breach the country’s territorial integrity.

“This evening, Russian military planes violated Lithuanian air space. This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania,” the country’s President Gitanas Nauseda said in a statement.

Alluding to recent EU plans to create a joint aerial defense and drone shield to protect European airspace from Russian incursions, he added: “Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defense readiness.”

Nauseda further announced that his foreign ministry will be summoning Russian diplomatic representatives, to lodge formal protest against the “reckless and dangerous behavior”.

Lithuania’s military said it scrambled jets in response to the brief incursion. It said:

Today, Russian military aircraft briefly entered Lithuanian airspace. Our forces acted quickly with NATO jets on patrol. Lithuania remains strong and ready. Every inch of our country is protected.

Initial reports say that two Russian military planes violated the airspace for a mere 18-seconds.

Baltic and Eastern European countries, including Poland, have for several weeks been complaining of Russian aerial incursions. This month Denmark hosted a summit where a ‘drone wall’ was the focus:

Fortified by intense security measures after a wave of drone incursions above airports and sensitive sites, two high-stakes summits in the Danish capital offered a mounting sense of collective clarity — and a possible solution that sounds like science fiction: a “drone wall.”

“There is only one country that are willing to threaten us, and it is Russia,” Danish President Mette Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday, adding that Europe was in the middle of a “hybrid war.”

“I think we are in the most difficult and dangerous situation since the end of the Second World War,” she added. “I want us to rearm. I want us to buy more capabilities. I want us to innovate more.”

Likely Thursday’s event happened off Lithuania’s coast over the Baltic Sea, where Russian and NATO planes frequently patrol.

Keep reading

NATO Country’s Defense Chief Urges Shooting Down Russian Warplanes

A top government official from a NATO country is calling for shooting down Russian aircraft the next time they breach an alliance member’s airspace, following several drone and border incidents this month.

“NATO’s border in the North East is being tested for a reason. We need to mean business,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė wrote on X Friday, the same day that three Russian warplanes reportedly breached neighboring Estonia’s airspace over the Gulf of Finland.

“Three Russian fighter jets over Tallinn is one more hard proof that Eastern Sentry is long due,” she stated.

The Lithuanian defense chief concluded her message by invoking an incident which makes clear she’s in favor of shooting down Russian jets.

“Türkiye set an example 10 years ago. Some food for thought,” the minister wrote.

This was in reference to the unprecedented incident in which Turkish Air Force F-16s downed a Russian Su-24 over the Turkey-Syria border area in November 2015.

Lithuania has joined Poland’s call for urgent consultations with members of the NATO alliance under its Article 4. Article 4 consultations can lead to the alliance taking action if the consensus is reached. 

Regional observer Notes from Poland says “It has previously been invoked seven times, including by Poland and seven other countries when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.”

Upon Friday’s incident the Estonian foreign ministry described that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets “entered Estonian airspace without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes.”

Additionally, EU diplomat Kaja Kallas, who hails from the Baltic country and was the first female prime minister, blasted the incursion as “an extremely dangerous provocation”.

European leaders are using these increasing instances to push for an ‘eastern flank’ aerial defense shield protecting NATO. Just last week the two largest eastern members of NATO said that Russian drones breached their airspace.

Keep reading

Russian Drone Found At Military Base In Lithuania Which Hosts NATO Troops

A suspected errant Russian drone has breached a NATO country’s airspace this week – though certainly not for the first time, and is setting off the proverbial alarm within Lithuania’s military

The drone was discovered crashed at a Lithuanian military training area after entering the country’s airspace from Belarus, after first being spotted early Monday morning, Lithuania’s army reported on Friday. The military first tracked in on radar over Belarusian airspace, near the border.

Several area residents actually captured footage of it flying over Vilnius before it vanished, and later was found on the ground at the military training base.

“It’s likely the same drone that breached our airspace on Monday. Initial analysis suggests it may be a Gerbera model, though this is still being confirmed,” the Lithuanian military said in the statement.

At least one Lithuanian lawmaker has portrayed the drone breach incident as intentional, also given it ended up at a military site.

“This looks like a provocation,” said Mindaugas Sinkevičius, interim leader of Lithuania’s ruling Social Democratic Party, while describing that the sensitive area where it was found leads to the conclusion that the breach was on purpose or a test of sorts.

It has been identified as a Gerbera drone, a type which Russia’s military often utilizes as a decoy to mislead or distract air defense systems in Ukraine.

Interestingly, the Gaižiūnai training grounds near Rukla – where it was recovered – actually hosts a NATO multinational battalion, regional reports say.

Keep reading

Germany Deploys Permanent Troops To Lithuania As Russian Offensive Builds

Germany has deployed a permanent military brigade beyond its borders for the first time since the end of World War II, with troops dispatched to the capital of Lithuania.  The event was inaugurated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said during a military ceremony in Vilnius that “the security of our Baltic allies is also our security.” 

The decision is part of a series of actions in recent months by European nations to “bolster defenses” on NATO’s eastern flank amid claims that Russia intends to invade greater Europe if they defeat Ukraine.  The “domino theory” remains unfounded and the Kremlin has never threatened to attack any country outside of Ukraine.  The move to shift troops to Lithuania places them near the border of Belarus (a Russian ally) and within striking distance of Ukraine or the Russian border. 

European governments have been threatening an escalation by eventually moving NATO troops into Ukraine in direct confrontation with Russian forces.  Vladimir Putin has previously warned that NATO troops in Ukraine represent a red line which could result in nuclear conflict. 

Putin asserted that if Ukraine’s Western backers deepened their involvement in the war, such as sending troops, the consequences for the “invaders” would be “tragic”. 

“They must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” Putin said, in apparent reference to increasingly lethal Western weapons provided to Kyiv. “What they are now suggesting and scaring the world with — all that raises the real threat of a nuclear conflict that will mean the destruction of our civilization.”

Keep reading

Three of four missing US Army soldiers found dead in Lithuania

Three of the four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing in Lithuania last week when their vehicle sunk in a peat bog have been found dead at the site, while the search for the remaining soldier is ongoing, U.S. and Lithuanian officials said on Monday.

Lithuania had said earlier on Monday that rescuers had recovered the armoured vehicle of the missing soldiers in a military training area in the Baltic country.

“It is with deep sadness and sorrow that I received the news of the tragic loss of three U.S. soldiers,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on social media platform X.

“Lithuania mourns together with the American nation,” he said.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said the search for the fourth soldier would continue.

Keep reading

Horror as four American soldiers ‘are found dead’ after vanishing during training exercise in Lithuania

Four US Army soldiers have reportedly been found dead the day after they were reported missing during a training exercise in Lithuania. 

The four servicemen, who have not been identified by authorities, were with the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. 

Early reports indicate that the soldiers may have been traveling in an M88 recovery vehicle, one of the largest armored vehicles used by the US military, which may have fallen into a body of water. 

The soldiers had been reported missing at around 4:45pm Tuesday following a training exercise near Pabrade, Lithuania, sparking a widespread search conducted by the US Army and Lithuanian authorities. 

The soldiers were reportedly carrying out a tactical training routine at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, which is less than six miles from the border with Belarus. 

The Lithuanian Armed Forces said Wednesday that they had identified a ‘possible location’ of the missing soldiers and their vehicle. 

The military said in a statement that ‘a search and rescue operation is underway, led by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, with additional capabilities from the Fire Protection and Rescue Department and other institutions.’ 

Officials have not offered any details regarding how the soldiers or their vehicle went missing nor the manner of their reported deaths.  

Keep reading

Lithuania Begins Building Base to House German Soldiers

Vilnius started construction on a military base that would house over 4,000 German soldiers. The facility will be located just miles from the border shared with Belarus. 

Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Vaiksnoras described the construction as a “huge investment” that will cost over $1.1 billion. He said the German deployment represents “deterrence, to push the Russians out.” However, it is unclear where Lithuania plans to push Russia from as Moscow has not invaded the Baltic state. 

At least two dozen German soldiers are already stationed in Lithuania. The German troop deployment, which is scheduled to surge to 4,800 troops by 2027, is Berlin’s first permanent garrison of soldiers deployed to Lithuania since World War 2. From 1941-1945, Nazi Germany occupied Lithuania. Under Hitler’s control, nearly Lithuania’s entire Jewish population was wiped out.  

The deployment will provide a significant military surge to Lithuania, which has only 15,000 active duty soldiers. The base is located just 12 miles from the border with Belarus. Germany plans to deploy over 100 Leopard Tanks to the base. 

Keep reading

Lithuania Moves to Exit Cluster Ban Treaty, Citing Weapons Effectiveness

Lithuania is taking its first steps towards exiting an international pact that bans the use of cluster munitions on the battlefield. Due to their impact on civilians, cluster bombs have been widely outlawed. 

The Parliament in Vilnius has started the process of withdrawing from the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). “Russia’s war against Ukraine shows that it is extremely difficult to effectively substitute cluster munitions and their defensive power to stop a large-scale attack,” the legislation’s sponsor, Deputy Defense Minister Renius Pleskys, said. “By replacing standard munitions with cluster munitions, the amount of munitions needed to achieve the same effect is significantly reduced.”

The CCM came into effect in 2010 and has over 112 nations as signatories. The treaty bans all use, transfer, production, and stockpiling of cluster munitions. 

Cluster bombs are anti-personnel weapons that have submunitions or bomblets that spread out over a wide area. After their initial use, many of the submunitions remain unexploded and often kill and maim civilians years or decades after a conflict ends. 

Keep reading