Two Russian military aircraft briefly enter NATO airspace near Kybartai

On the evening of 23 October 2025, two Russian military aircraft from the Kaliningrad region briefly entered Lithuanian airspace near the town of Kybartai, close to the Russian exclave's border. According to the Lithuanian armed forces, the incursion occurred at around 18:00 local time: the aircraft penetrated roughly 700 metres into Lithuanian territory and remained for about 18 seconds before turning back toward Kaliningrad. Lithuanian officials identified the aircraft as a Su-30 fighter jet and an Il-78 aerial-refuelling tanker, which were reportedly conducting a refuelling exercise over Kaliningrad when the violation occurred.

In response, two Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon jets deployed under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission were scrambled and patrolled the area. President Gitanas Nausėda condemned the incident as a blatant breach of international law and Lithuania's territorial integrity, and Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said allied and national forces had responded effectively. Lithuania's Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian embassy's chargé d'affaires and issued a strong protest, urging Moscow to explain the violation, as reported by LRT and RFE/RL. Russia's Defence Ministry denied that its aircraft had crossed into Lithuanian airspace, asserting that the flights followed planned routes over Kaliningrad without deviation.

The incident fits a broader 2025 pattern of Russian military aircraft probing NATO's eastern-flank airspace, including incursions reported over Estonia. The short duration and shallow penetration are consistent with either navigational error during a refuelling exercise or deliberate testing of NATO's reaction times; Lithuania and allied air policing responded promptly with intercepting fighters. Russia's flat denial, citing internal flight-control data, mirrors its standard response to such allegations and leaves the cause contested. The diplomatic protest and envoy summons signal Vilnius's intent to document and deter repeated violations, but carry limited coercive weight on their own.