Lithuanian president believes Russia deliberately allows drones to enter Baltic states

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda believes drones entering his country or other Baltic states may be deliberately allowed to stray off course.

Source: European Pravda citing LRT, Lithuania's national public service broadcaster

Details: Nausėda said drone incidents in Europe are another attempt by the Kremlin to punish countries that support Ukraine.

Quote: "Russia's behaviour is becoming increasingly aggressive. It is pointing more and more clearly to a certain trend. Unwilling to enter into direct confrontation with NATO, Russia is trying to target those countries that are among the strongest supporters of Ukraine."

More details: Nausėda said Russia could stage incidents in Europe in various ways, often covertly.

Quote: "Such incidents – like the drone recently shot down or other drone cases – are not necessarily a direct Russian attack on NATO. At this stage, the Russians are probably not ready for that and do not want it. But it could be deliberate – allowing a drone to stray off course and enter the territory not necessarily of Lithuania but of any Baltic state or Poland, in order to keep the public on edge. This is undoubtedly in Russia's interests."

Background:

• On the night of 14-15 September, fighter jets from NATO's air policing mission shot down a drone of an unidentified type over Lithuania for the first time after it entered the country from Belarusian territory.
• An explosive device was found at the site where a drone crashed in Lithuania and was neutralised by bomb disposal experts.
• On 16 September, Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a Belarusian representative and handed him a note of protest over the violation of Lithuania's state border and airspace.

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