Lithuania Accuses Russia Of Airspace Violation

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania’s president said Russian military aircraft briefly violated Lithuania’s airspace on Thursday evening, condemning what he called a blatant violation of the territorial integrity of his European Union and NATO member country.

The Lithuanian foreign ministry plans to summon representatives of the Russian Embassy in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius to protest the violation, President Gitanas Nausėda said in a post on social media platform X.

“This is a blatant violation of international law and the territorial integrity of Lithuania,” Nausėda wrote to X. “This reaffirms the importance of strengthening Europe’s air defense preparedness.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry rejected Lithuania’s claim that Russian warplanes entered its airspace without permission.

In the statement, it was stated that Su-30 warplanes carried out training flights over the Kaliningrad region in accordance with the rules on Thursday.

“The aircraft did not deviate from its flight path or violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring tools,” the ministry said.

Some leaders accused Putin of terrorism Hybrid warfare in Europe. Moscow denies claims it is investigating NATO’s defence.

Lithuanian armed forces said that at around 18:00 local time on Thursday, two Russian military aircraft flew about 700 meters (765 yards) into Lithuanian airspace, with the SU-30 aircraft and the IL-78 refueling plane flying about 18 seconds later.

Lithuanian armed forces believe military aircraft may be conducting refueling exercises in neighboring area Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Two Spanish warplanes, performing NATO air policing duties, took off and flew towards the region.

Earlier on Thursday, Nausėda attended a summit at the European Council building in Brussels, where EU leaders approved a plan to ensure Europe can defend itself against an external attack by the end of the decade. The plan is called Preparedness 2030.