NATO Jets Down Drone Over Lithuania    09/15 06:18

   NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace 
overnight, officials said Tuesday, less than a day after NATO Secretary-General 
Mark Rutte said that strikes close to the alliance's territory would drive the 
trans-Atlantic organization to increase its support for Kyiv.

   VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) -- NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered 
Lithuanian airspace overnight, officials said Tuesday, less than a day after 
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that strikes close to the alliance's 
territory would drive the trans-Atlantic organization to increase its support 
for Kyiv.

   The drone was downed near the village of Pratknai in the Kaiiadorys 
district, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of the country's capital, 
Vilnius, and near the Kaunas Reservoir, Lithuania's National Crisis Management 
Center said Tuesday.

   Lithuania's military said that the incident marked the first time that a 
drone had been shot down in the country's airspace. Authorities didn't comment 
on the drone's origin or purpose, saying the incident needed further 
investigation.

   The incursion follows a speech by Rutte on Monday at NATO headquarters in 
Brussels, where he said that strikes "close to NATO territory" showed Russian 
President Vladimir Putin's "desperation and also his desire to sow fear and 
terror."

   "Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war 
against Ukraine," Rutte said. He also pledged to bolster the 32-nation 
alliance's own defenses along its long eastern border with Russia.

   Drone 'likely' to be carrying explosives

   The menace of drones has repeatedly loomed over the skies of Lithuania, 
which shares borders with Belarus, a key ally of Moscow, and the Russian 
exclave of Kaliningrad.

   Antanas Matutis, commander of the Lithuanian air force, said that the 
wreckage had been found, and the drone was "likely" carrying explosives.

   Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the crisis center, told Lithuanian public 
broadcaster LRT that the drone most likely entered from Belarus. It remained in 
Lithuanian airspace for about 30 minutes and flew along the outskirts of 
populated areas before being intercepted, he said.

   In a separate encounter between Russian and NATO forces Tuesday, Denmark's 
Foreign Ministry said that a Danish air force helicopter had been fired upon 
with flares in connection with "routine photographic coverage" of a Russian 
frigate in waters off the port of Gedser in the Baltic Sea.

   "This is completely unacceptable," the ministry wrote on X, saying that the 
Russian ambassador was summoned over the incident.

   Kyiv says it's 'ready to support de-escalation'

   Meanwhile, Russian drone strikes continued across Ukraine following a social 
media post from U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday that Russia and Ukraine 
had agreed "not to hit" each other's energy infrastructure.

   Trump didn't offer further details on the purported agreement, and Russia 
didn't immediately comment on Trump's post. Previous efforts to broker even a 
partial ceasefire have repeatedly fallen apart within hours, with both sides 
accusing each other of violations.

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday that Kyiv was 
"ready to support de-escalation" if the United States could ensure "Russia is 
genuinely ready to stop this war."

   But Zelenskyy said in a statement on Tuesday that Moscow had continued to 
attack Ukraine's energy sector, logistics and critical infrastructure, and that 
Kyiv had responded by striking an oil refinery in Syzran, a city in western 
Russia.

   "There is no alternative to ending this war. And all forms of pressure on 
Russia must create the right diplomatic conditions," Zelenskyy said.

   Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Tuesday that Russian strikes on Kyiv 
had killed one person and wounded seven other people since the start of the 
day, with attacks carried out on the capital's gas stations.

   Another two people were killed in separate Russian strikes in the Ukrainian 
cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.

   Elsewhere, Russian forces shot down 222 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia's 
Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

   A "massive" Ukrainian drone attack sparked several fires in the Russian city 
of Taganrog, regional Gov. Yuri Slyusar said. He said on Telegram that two 
apartment buildings and three private homes had been damaged, as well as an 
educational institution, agricultural warehouses and a site belonging to 
Russian e-retailer Ozon.

   Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Kyiv's forces had targeted a drone production 
facility in the city.