NATO jets shoot down drone over Lithuania

BREAKING: NATO fighter jets shoot down a drone over Lithuania, with preliminary data suggesting it came from Russia ally Belarus, before falling in a rural area near Lake Kaunas.

NATO jets just shot down a drone over Lithuania.

It happened overnight. The drone crossed into Lithuanian airspace heading west, fighter jets scrambled, and they brought it down over a rural area near Lake Kaunas, right in the centre of the country. Preliminary data from Lithuania's crisis management centre points to it coming from Belarus, Moscow's closest ally.

President Gitanas Nauseda thanked the alliance for what he called a swift response, and said that with Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, this kind of readiness is vital for the region. His foreign minister put it more bluntly, saying NATO stands vigilant, committed, and ready.

Here's what makes this more than a one-night story. Lithuania borders both Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, and these incursions have been happening across the Baltics since the full invasion began. The difference tonight is that NATO didn't just track this one. It pulled the trigger.

This is Dave King, reporting for HIT.