Italian Eurofighters intercept two Russian military jets over Lithuania

Airspace breach over Lithuania

Two Italian Air Force Eurofighter F-2000 jets scrambled from the Šiauliai airbase in northern Lithuania on the late afternoon of 17 September 2026 after two Russian military aircraft breached Lithuanian airspace. The alert operation was directed by NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre situated in Uedem, Germany, after allied radar installations detected unauthorized flight activity near the Baltic border. The Italian aircraft, operating under the 'Baltic Thunder III' Air Task Force, intercepted both Russian military aircraft and escorted them out of national airspace. The Italian detachment is stationed in Lithuania under the NATO Baltic Air Policing rotation, an operational framework designed to secure the airspace of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, which do not maintain their own fighter fleets.

Regional incidents along the eastern flank

The airspace breach follows a sequence of security incidents detected along NATO's eastern perimeter over the preceding five days. On 15 September 2026, Italian Eurofighters shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle in Lithuanian airspace during an official visit by Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, who later stated the drone was probably Russian. Two days prior, on 13 September 2026, Lithuanian radar units registered an alarm over a suspected swarm of drones that post-flight verification determined to be a flock of birds. Also on 13 September 2026, a Russian military strike hit a train carrying 206 passengers en route from Kyiv to Warsaw just across the Ukrainian-Polish border. That passenger convoy traveled along the track minutes after a train transporting the national security advisers of Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Diplomatic reactions across Europe

Security alarms extended into neighboring NATO territory following the aerial incursions. Air raid sirens sounded in Polish provinces situated along the border with Ukraine on 17 September 2026. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk issued a statement warning of coordinated hybrid attacks orchestrated by Russian authorities against neighboring states. Simultaneously, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addressed the Baltic airspace breach while attending a bilateral meeting in Oslo with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the Government Guest House. Meloni argued that Moscow is attempting to divert attention away from difficulties on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Meloni detailed the rationale behind the Russian aerial activity during a press conference in the Norwegian capital.

Moscow's provocations are multiplying because Putin needs to shift attention by seeking an escalation with Europe from a situation on the battlefield that is not going as Putin promised.

Meloni urged European Union leadership and allied governments to refrain from military escalations in response to Russian maneuvers.

We must ask ourselves who benefits from an escalation and act accordingly, we must not react to provocations, it would benefit Russia more than Europe.

Legislative moves and international diplomacy

During her appearance in Oslo, Meloni called for the European Union to appoint a specialized envoy on Ukraine to ensure European governments communicate their policy positions with a single voice. Concurrently in Washington, the United States Congress approved the first legislative package of economic sanctions against Russia under the presidency of Donald Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the congressional vote, stating that the sanctions measures would apply pressure on the Kremlin.

They will force Putin to peace.

The Russian government condemned the congressional action, while NATO air surveillance assets and the Italian detachment at Šiauliai continue active operational patrols across Baltic airspace.