Overview
- NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that violated Lithuanian airspace in the night of Monday to Tuesday, September 14–15, 2026, and the wreckage fell in a rural area near Kaunas lake.
- Lithuanian crisis‑centre data relayed by national broadcaster LRT give a preliminary trajectory from Belarus but officials say formal forensic attribution is still under investigation.
- President Gitanas Nausėda and Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys publicly thanked NATO for the swift response and tied the interception to the wider Russian campaign against Ukraine.
- Poland conducted preventive aerial operations overnight in response to drone strikes on Ukraine, and the incident follows a pattern of repeated drone intrusions in the Baltic states, including a May interception over Estonia.
- The episode raises the risk of sharper diplomatic strain with Belarus and Russia and is likely to keep NATO air policing and local security measures at heightened readiness while investigators examine intent and origin.