NATO fighter jet shoots down drone over Lithuania
Russia and Ukraine ignore Trump's plea to not attack energy infrastructure amid ongoing war
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Russia → shoot → 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.
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Centre → shoot → morning
The drone entered Lithuanian airspace from Russian ally Belarus after midnight and was shot down near the southern village of Pratkunai not far from the city of Kaunas, the Lithuanian national crisis management centre said.
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centre → enter → Kaunas
"Last night, again, the Italian pilots have intervened and they have shot down a threat that most probably came from Russia," Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told reporters at Siauliai Air Base, where Italian fighters are based as part of the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission.
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fighters → intervene → mission
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.
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war → stray → borders
Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas thanked Italy and said that after the drone debris is examined, "we will be able to say clearly whether this is a Russian drone, and it's possibly a provocation, or whether it is another country's drone."
uncertain
it → thank → Italy
In recent months, Ukrainian drones have also entered NATO airspace in the Baltic region.
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drones → enter → region
Kyiv says they were steered off course by Russian signal jamming.
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they → say → jamming
A drone alert was issued earlier in the capital Vilnius and surrounding region.
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alert → issue → capital
The Lithuanian army shared video from the site of the crash, showing debris scattered in grass.
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army → share → 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.
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countries → appear → 2004
The mission's jets shot down stray Ukrainian drones over Estonia in May, and over Latvia in June and August.
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jets → shoot → June
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Monday that strikes close to the alliance's territory would drive the transatlantic organization to increase its support for Kyiv.
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organization → say → Kyiv
Rutte also pledged to bolster the 32-nation alliance's own defences along its long eastern border with Russia.
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Rutte → pledge → Russia
Denmark reports encounter with Russian ship
Separately, Denmark said a Russian frigate fired two flares towards a Danish military helicopter on Monday.
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frigate → report → Monday
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the incident "unacceptable" and said it could have endangered human lives.
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it → call → 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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Russia → say → NATO
The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after incidents involving gas pipeline outages, airspace violations and drone sightings.
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region → involve → outages
Russia has dismissed accusations over such incidents and repeatedly denied carrying out hybrid attacks in Europe.
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Russia → dismiss → 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.
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RIA → accuse → episode
Ukraine reports deaths
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Ukraine → report → deaths
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.
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they → hit → Trump
Russia launched 200 drones at Ukraine's capital and other cities in overnight attacks, killing two people.
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Russia → launch → 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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officials → strike → regions
EU slams Russian attack at Ukraine train station where world dignitaries had gathered
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dignitaries → slam → station
Zelenskyy's comparison of Canada to Ukraine is imperfect — but it matters
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it → matter → Ukraine
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.
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Zelenskyy → hit → regions
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."
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that → call → world
Trump didn't offer further details on the purported agreement between the two sides.
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Trump → offer → sides
Zelenskyy said late Monday that Kyiv was "ready to support de-escalation," but expressed doubts Russia would adhere to such a demand.
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Russia → say → 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.
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sanctions → say → supplies
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.
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it → tell → prices
He said Russia would stay in touch with the Americans about Trump's proposal.
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Russia → say → 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.
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buildings → say → 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.
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Ministry → hit → Tuesday
The Aporia
