NATO fighter jet shoots down drone over Lithuania

NATO fighter jet shoots down drone over Lithuania

Russia and Ukraine ignore Trump's plea to not attack energy infrastructure amid ongoing war

An Italian NATO fighter jet shot down a drone over Lithuania ‌shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning, the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre said.

The drone, which was likely to have entered from Belarus, was shot ​down near Pratkunai village in southern ​Lithuania, near Kaunas, the second-largest city, the centre's spokesperson said. Its origin had yet to be ​determined, he said.

Military drones ​straying into the ⁠airspace of Russia's neighbours have stoked concerns that Russia's war in Ukraine is spilling over NATO's borders.

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. Rutte also pledged to bolster the 32-nation alliance's own defences along its long eastern border with Russia.

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Officials did not say whether ⁠the drone was ⁠believed to be Ukrainian ‌or Russian. In recent months, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly entered NATO airspace in the Baltic region. Kyiv says they were steered off course by ⁠Russian signal jamming.

A drone alert was issued earlier in the capital Vilnius and surrounding region.

The Lithuanian army shared video ‌from the site of the crash, showing debris scattered in grass. Some of the parts appeared to be made from wood and some appeared charred.

Fighters ​with the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission have patrolled the skies of ⁠Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since the Baltic countries joined ⁠the alliance in 2004. The mission's jets shot down stray ⁠Ukrainian ⁠drones over Estonia ​in May, and over Latvia in June and August.

Denmark reports encounter with Russian ship

Separately, Denmark said a Russian frigate fired two flares towards a Danish military helicopter on Monday. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the incident "unacceptable" and said it could have endangered human lives.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the incident was serious but not surprising, calling it part of a ⁠pattern in which an increasingly aggressive Russia has intensified its hybrid warfare against Europe and is testing NATO.

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The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after incidents involving gas pipeline ​outages, airspace violations and drone sightings.

Russia has dismissed accusations over such incidents and repeatedly denied carrying out hybrid attacks in Europe.

Russia accused Danish military helicopters of making dangerous manoeuvres near its warships in the Baltic Sea and handed an official note to Copenhagen ‌complaining about such incidents, Russia's ambassador to Denmark said Tuesday, according to Russia's RIA state news agency.

RIA cited Ambassador Vladimir Barbin as ⁠blaming Denmark for the ‌episode.

Meanwhile, Russia hit petrol stations in Kyiv on Tuesday and Ukraine ‌struck a Russian oil refinery, as the warring sides carried on with strikes on each other's energy targets despite an announcement on social media by U.S. President Donald Trump the previous day that they had agreed to stop.

Russia launched 200 drones at Ukraine's capital and other cities in overnight attacks, killing two people. In addition to the petrol ​stations in Kyiv, it struck energy and port infrastructure in other regions, ​Ukrainian officials said.

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For its part, Ukraine hit a Russian oil refinery in Syzran, in Russia's Samara region on the Volga River, and also drone production facilities in the Taganrog and Oryol ​regions, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Trump on Sunday had called on Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure, saying ​the attacks were causing a shortage of the fuel that is "hurting ​the world."

Trump didn't offer further details on the purported agreement between the two sides.

Zelenskyy said late Monday that Kyiv was "ready to support de-escalation," but expressed doubts Russia would adhere to such a demand.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin said it welcomed what it termed a U.S. proposal, while adding that "illegal" sanctions on Russian energy supplies should be lifted.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Trump's suggestion was a "very ​good idea," but it would take more than that to bring down global ⁠fuel prices. He said Russia would stay in touch with the Americans about Trump's proposal.

In additional fighting on Tuesday, the regional governor of Odesa, Oleh Kiper, said that Russia hit port ‌infrastructure in ​Ukraine's southern ​Black Sea region overnight, ‌with residential buildings, ‌logistics facilities and transport infrastructure ​coming under attack.

‌Russian ​forces hit ​a cargo ship ​and ⁠a ⁠ferry ‌carrying ⁠military supplies ‌in ​Ukraine's ⁠port ⁠of Chornomorsk, ⁠the ⁠Russian Defence ​Ministry ⁠said on ⁠Tuesday.

With files from The Associated Press