VILNIUS, LITHUANIA – Lithuania has made an urgent request to NATO to bolster its air defenses after revealing that at least two Russian military drones, one of which was carrying explosives, flew into its territory from neighboring Belarus last month. The incursions have been condemned as an “alarming sign” of the spillover from Russia’s war in Ukraine onto the territory of the Western military alliance.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys announced on Wednesday that he had spoken with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss “regional security and the recent drone incidents in Lithuania.”
Following the conversation, the two leaders “agreed on the need of immediate steps to strengthen air defence capabilities along NATO’s frontlines,” Budrys wrote in a post on the social media platform X. “Air defence is vital to allied security. Securing NATO’s Eastern Flank must remain a top priority for the Alliance.”
The formal request for assistance comes after Lithuanian authorities disclosed two separate violations of their airspace in July. The first incident occurred on July 10, when a Russian-made Gerbera multi-purpose drone unlawfully entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. The Lithuanian foreign ministry demanded an explanation from Minsk over the incursion.
A second, more serious incident occurred on July 28. Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that a Russian drone, likely directed at Kyiv, appeared to have been disoriented by Ukrainian air defenses and unintentionally flew into Lithuanian territory. The drone was discovered days later in a military training area and, according to the country’s Prosecutor-General, was carrying explosives. Local media reports identified it as another Russian Gerbera drone, a type often used as a decoy in Moscow’s large-scale strikes against Ukraine.
“These repeated incidents represent an alarming sign of the spillover of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine onto NATO territory,” Budrys said.
Lithuania, a member of both NATO and the European Union, is in a strategically vulnerable position, sharing borders with both the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow-allied Belarus. The drone incursions are the latest in a series of incidents that have put NATO’s eastern flank on high alert. Other frontline countries, including Romania, Poland, and Latvia, have also reported Russian drones violating their airspace and missiles being fired near their respective borders with Ukraine in recent months.
The incidents come as Russia has ramped up its strikes on Ukrainian cities, ignoring calls from Western leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, to halt attacks on civilian areas.
In response to the heightened threat, Lithuania has become a leader within NATO on defense spending. In January, the Baltic state announced it would raise its defense budget to between 5% and 6% of its GDP starting next year, a significant increase from its current level of just over 3%. The move made it the first NATO nation to vow to reach the new 5% target long demanded by President Trump.
The request for NATO support comes at a time of political turmoil in Lithuania. The government resigned last week following Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas’s decision to step down amid a series of corruption allegations. President Gitanas Nausėda has appointed a caretaker prime minister who will lead the government until a new cabinet is sworn in.
