The Lithuanian Armed Forces detailed, in a statement, that two Russian aircraft entered Lithuanian airspace from the Kaliningrad exclave, located in the west of the Baltic country, at around 6:00 pm (4:00 pm in Lisbon).
The aircraft identified were an SU-30 fighter and an IL-78 refueling plane that were possibly carrying out maneuvers in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, located west of Lithuania, the Lithuanian military added.
The two devices entered Lithuanian airspace at around 700 meters for 18 seconds, said the same statement.
In response to the incident, two Spanish Eurofighter fighters, which are part of NATO’s air policing mission, took to the air and patrolled the area.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda condemned a “flagrant violation of international law and Lithuania’s territorial integrity”, and called for a response from European partners.
“Once again, [o incidente] confirms the importance of strengthening European air defense preparedness”maintained Nauseda.
Neighbors of Russia or its ally Belarus, the three Baltic states that are members of NATO and staunch supporters of Ukraine (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), have all reported recent violations of their territory by Russian aircraft or drones.
In September, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland, where they remained for approximately 12 minutes, according to Tallinn.
This incident led Estonia to call an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council and the activation of article 4 of the Atlantic Alliance Founding Treaty, which provides for consultations between allies in the event of a threat to one of its members.
The incursion into Lithuania came on the day the EU announced the approval of the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, shortly after the United States announced restrictions aimed at the two largest Russian oil companies.
Washington’s sanctions against the oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil were justified with “the refusal to [o Presidente russo, Vladimir] Putin to stop the senseless war”, in a reference to the invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Also this week, US President Donald Trump postponed a meeting that was scheduled to take place in Budapest with his Kremlin counterpart, to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.