Russian Su-30 fighter jet and Il-78 tanker violate NATO airspace again
October 24, 2025
A Russian fighter jet and tanker violated Lithuanian airspace as relations remain tense with NATO. This comes as there are growing calls for NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Western Ukraine, and as the US imposes new sanctions on Russian oil.
Russian jets again violate NATO airspace
According to a post by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on X (formerly Twitter), two Russian aircraft have again violated NATO airspace.
This evening, Russian military planes violated Lithuanian air space. This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania. Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defence readiness.@LithuaniaMFA will summon Russian… pic.twitter.com/0GS6OrKaRx
— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) October 23, 2025
Nausėda stated, “This evening, Russian military planes violated Lithuanian airspace. This is a blatant breach of international law and the territorial integrity of Lithuania.” He added that the incident again underscores the importance of Europeans beefing up and developing their air defence readiness.
The Lithuanian president also stated the country would summon the Russian embassy representatives in protest. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence added more details to the incident, saying the Russian military aircraft were a Sukhoi Su-30 Flanker and a Illushyin Il-78 Midas tanker.
The Russian SU-30 and IL-78 aircraft crossed about 700 metres into Lithuanian territory near Kybartai, staying in our airspace for 18 seconds.
— Lithuanian MOD 🇱🇹 (@Lithuanian_MoD) October 23, 2025
This incident once again shows the reality of our region. Together with our Allies, we must keep strengthening our defence capabilities. https://t.co/njpFxMUoMM
The ministry said the aircraft crossed around 700 meters into Lithuanian airspace near Kybartai. They stayed in the country’s airspace for around 18 seconds. In another post, the ministry said, “Our forces acted quickly with NATO jets on patrol.” It then reassured that “every inch” of Lithuania remains protected.
The incident also came a day after the United States Department of the Treasury slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
Baltic states remain dependent on NATO air policing
The three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have populations of 1.4 million to 2.9 million each. They are too small to feasibly operate expensive fighter jet fleets. Instead, these countries rely on other NATO countries to police their airspace on their behave.
🇳🇱 Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35A (F-027) of the 313th Squadron with one UAV kill mark achieved during its sortie over Poland during the September 9th Russian drone attack on Poland.https://t.co/vYCOO05Rts pic.twitter.com/QlHKn0fRUw
— Jeff2146🇧🇪 (@Jeff21461) October 1, 2025
The Baltic states’ small size forces them to focus on being mostly infantry militaries designed to dig in and stall any Russian invasion long enough for NATO reinforcements to arrive.
Poland is much larger and is currently building up one of the most powerful militaries in Europe. But it is currently going through a vulnerable transition period where it is also somewhat dependent on NATO air policing. In September, Dutch F-35As defended Polish skies, shooting down intruding Russian Shahed-style drones.
Poland donated half of its legacy MiG-29s to Ukraine and is rushing South Korean KA-50 Golden Eagle light fighters into service, although these are only available in modest numbers. The mainstay of the Polish tactical air force is a fleet of 47 F-16s that are slated for upgrades.
Poland is purchasing 32 advanced F-35As, with the first six delivered. However, these are currently held back in the US for training and are expected to arrive in the country in 2026.
Growing hybrid war with Russia
Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe and the West in general. This includes misinformation, bot farms, drone incursions, sabotage, fighter jet incursions, election meddling, and more. Russia is in no position to confront NATO or even just European conventional forces directly, but incursions do test NATO’s resolve and sow discord.
Two 🇭🇺 Gripen fighters on @NATO Baltic #AirPolicing scrambled on 25 Sep from Siauliai 🇱🇹 in response to a 🇷🇺 Su-30, Su-35 and 3x MiG-31 flying close to 🇱🇻 airspace
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) September 25, 2025
🇭🇺 demonstrates the Alliance’s commitment to protecting and safeguarding the Baltics and the eastern flank pic.twitter.com/EMG035s0qm
Poland and others have issued warnings to Russia that it could shoot down Russian fighter jets intruding into NATO airspace. But this is not a united position with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, saying they should not shoot down Russian fighters.
The most serious fighter jet violation of NATO airspace took place in September when three armed Russian MiG-31s flew in Estonian airspace for 12 minutes.
If NATO were to shoot down Russian jets, it would not be without precedent. In 2015, NATO-member Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 after it flew around 2 kilometres inside its airspace for around 17 seconds.
Featured Image: NATO
