Lithuanian president says Russian military planes violated the Baltic country’s airspace

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that Russian military planes violated Lithuania’s airspace on Thursday evening, condemning the breach as a blatant infraction on the territorial integrity of his European Union and NATO-member country.

Lithuania’s foreign ministry will summon Russian Embassy representatives in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, to protest the violation, Nausėda said in a post on the social media platform X.

“This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania,” Nausėda wrote on X. “Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defence readiness.”

The Baltic nations are increasingly worried by neighboring Russia’s aggression on Ukraine as a series of mysterious drone incidents and airspace violations by Russian war planes in recent weeks has fueled concerns that President Vladimir Putin might be testing NATO’s defensive reflexes.

Some leaders have accused him of waging a hybrid war in Europe. Moscow denies probing NATO’s defenses.