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Nato should down Russian drones in Baltics: Lithuania

AFP
Thursday, Sep 12, 2024

WARSAW: Lithuania´s defence minister said on Wednesday that Nato aircraft based in the Baltic states should shoot down Russian drones that drift into their airspace after Russian drone crashed in Latvia last week.

Warplanes from other Nato members have patrolled their skies over the Baltic states since they joined the military alliance in 2004 as the three former Soviet republics do not have the necessary aircraft.

NATO aircraft “must not only patrol but also, if necessary, if possible destroy the drones,” Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told reporters in Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

He added the decision-making process should be shortened to make this possible.