Two Russian jets have entered Nato airspace in Lithuania, marking yet another violation in recent months.
The aircraft entered Lithuanian airspace for 18 seconds on Thursday, a move which Russia has denied.
It prompted protests and reactions from Nato forces as the latest incident marks a series of airspace violations committed by Russia this year alone.
Metro pulled together a map showing the impact of Russian jets and where they have violated Nato airspace in 2025 – from Lithuania to Poland and Estonia.
Where did Russian jets violate Nato airspace?
In the most recent incident, Russian jets violated Lithuanian airspace, in which two aircraft, a Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 refuelling tanker, flew nearly half a mile (700 metres) into the country.
The jet flew from Kaliningrad, a Russian province located between Poland and Lithuania and entered the airspace in a suspected refuelling training mission.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene branded Russia a ‘terrorist state’ after violating the country’s airspace.
She said on Facebook: ‘This incident once again shows that Russia is behaving like a terrorist state, disregarding international law and the security of neighbouring countries.
‘Lithuania is safe. Together with our allies, we look after and will defend every centimetre of our country.’
The Su-30 jets training in Kaliningrad did not violate the airspace of other bordering countries, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
How has Nato reacted?
Nato forces quickly intervened after the Russian jets entered Lithuanian airspace, in which Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the Nato Baltic Air Police were deployed to patrol the area.
‘This is another demonstration of Nato’s readiness to respond to any developments and ability to ensure the safety of the Alliance’s airspace,’ a Nato official said.
However, this is not the first time Nato has reacted after Russian jets violated other allied nations in recent months.
Nato was forced to invoke Article 4 of the treaty after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace in September.
More recently, Nato forces scrambled fighter jets to aid Estonia after its airspace was violated by Russian military aircraft.
Where else has it happened in 2025?
Lithuania marks the latest in a series of airspace violations in 2025.
Poland became the first Nato member to fire shots at Russian drones since the war began.
More than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting Nato to invoke Article 4, which calls for member states and allied nations to hold consultations regarding major incidents.
Nato allies in Poland and the Netherlands deployed fighter jets to shoot down the drones.
At the time, the Russian attacks deployed around 415 drones and over 40 missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that he believed around eight of those were aimed towards Poland.
Just nine days after the attacks over Poland, three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace for 12 minutes.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia had violated Estonian airspace four times this year, but described the incursion in September as ‘unprecedentedly brazen’.
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