The military alliance dispatched two Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon jets from NATO’s Baltic Air Police station in response to a breach by the Su-30 fighter and Il-78 refuelling tanker
NATO has been forced to deploy warplanes once again after Russian jets breached European airspace.
The military alliance dispatched two Spanish Eurofighter planes this evening in response to the latest blatant breach of European airspace as the Russian military continues to make bold incursions. Two jets – an Su-30 fighter and II-78 refuelling tanker – flew into Lithuania for a total of 18 seconds, this evening, the country’s military said, violating its airspace from the Kaliningrad region.
Spanish jets were flown in response from NATO’s Baltic Air Police, and patrolled the area, with Lithuania’s president decrying Russia’s “blatant breach of international law” in a statement.
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President Gitanas Nausėda said: “This evening, Russian military planes violated Lithuanian airspace. This is a blatant breach of international law and the territorial integrity of Lithuania. Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defence readiness.”
Lithuania’s defence ministry posted its own statement as it alerted the public to the incursion, vowing in a post on X that the country is “strong and ready”.
The post read: “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.”
This evening’s incursion is the latest in a series carried out by Russia which has caused growing anger in east and western Europe and intensified calls for better security coverage for the continent. In September, three Russiam MiG-31 fighter jets entered the country’s airspace near Vaindloo Island, where they stayed for around 12 minutes.
Both Talinn and NATO issued strong statements in response, with the latter describing the flights as “reckless” as Italian F-35 jets were deployed, again via the Baltic Air Policing mission, in response.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called for action in a statement after requesting article 4 protection from the organisation, saying: “Nato’s response to any provocation must be united and strong. We consider it essential to consult with our allies to ensure shared situational awareness and to agree on our next joint steps.”
Earlier in the same month, Poland downed several russian drones that had flown into its territory in the wake of a massive attack on Ukraine. Another drone violated Romanian airspace following a similar attack in Ukraine a matter of days later.
Lithuania’s military believes that the latest incident had likely occured while the Russian Su-30 jet conducted training over Kaliningrad Oblast, a bristling Russian enclave on the border of Lithuania and Poland.