16 September 2026

NATO air policing jets from Siauliai shot down a drone overnight in Kaisiadorys district after it crossed into Lithuania from Belarus, and bomb disposal teams later neutralised the explosives it was carrying. President Gitanas Nauseda said it was likely a Russian Gerbera drone that had drifted off course, but defence minister Robertas Kaunas has not formally confirmed its origin. Kaunas said the investigation will take time because specialists are examining the engine, other technical parts, the collected wreckage and the flight path. Lithuania has handed Belarus a note over the airspace breach, briefed allies, and the National Crisis Management Centre later corrected the location to Kaisiadorys district after initial alerts went to residents in Vilnius, Trakai, Elektrenai and Kaunas county.

Nauseda also admitted the authorities did not pass the test because some residents were not warned in time, and the military is reviewing a separate airspace incident from Sunday. Kaunas said he had agreed with Poland's defence minister to jointly investigate drone incidents, share intelligence and establish their origin after another unidentified drone was found on Poland's coast. Military experts said the interception was precise but costly because fighter jets were used against a cheap drone. They also warned Lithuania may not be able to bring down every drone if several cross the border at once, reinforcing the case for lower-cost counter-drone systems.

US prosecutors in New York charged five people on Wednesday, including Cuban national Oemii Romagoza Durruthy, over a Russian intelligence-linked network. The indictment says the group tried in 2025 to hire a US resident to kill a person living in Lithuania identified as Victim-2. Prosecutors also said the same network sought recruits for attacks on civilian and military infrastructure in Europe that supports Ukraine.

NATO jets shot down a Russian Gerbera drone after it entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. Lithuania lodged a protest over the incident, while President Gitanas Nauseda said the episode showed failures in military tactics and intelligence.

European shares fell to three-month lows yesterday as higher oil prices and rising bond yields hit risk appetite across the region. French 10-year yields moved above 4.5%, while global borrowing costs reached their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.

In Strasbourg today, Ursula von der Leyen proposed an EU mechanism modelled on NATO's Article 4 for faster responses to drone incidents, sabotage and cyberattacks. The European Commission president also called for a European Security Council and backed an EU-wide social media limit for children under 13. Her proposals came after a string of Russia-linked hybrid incidents and now move into EU talks over membership and powers.

Near the Ukraine-Poland border, a Russian drone hit a passenger train yesterday on a route used shortly before by Boris Johnson and other European visitors. Nobody was hurt, but Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike deliberate and promised a response. Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today that Lithuania's plan to lift its ban on hosting nuclear weapons would pose a challenge for Moscow. She pointed to Russia's nuclear deployment in Belarus as its answer.

A Russian strike destroyed the warehouse of Volodymyr Zelenskiy's former television studio, wiping out 20 years of archived material. Belarus also massed troops and equipment near the Suwalki Gap for military exercises.

A six-storey residential block collapsed in western Gaza City today, killing at least 16 people, including eight children and five women. Rescuers were still searching for more than two dozen missing or injured people, and the building was sheltering families displaced by the war. The block had been damaged in earlier Israeli strikes and was considered unstable, but residents stayed because they had nowhere else to go.

In Sudan, at least 60 people were killed over the past day when a gold mine collapsed, according to survivors. A CNN investigation published today said Russian spy satellites passed geospatial intelligence to Iran before its March 27 strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. That attack wounded 12 U.S. personnel and destroyed an AWACS aircraft.

Researchers also traced a Russian-linked Matryoshka disinformation push aimed at the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections. The operation used at least eight posts and 16 fake videos on X over two days, with CNN branding and altered Cameo clips urging voters not to back Democrats. In Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said today that a new domestically made weapon destroyed a Shahed drone overnight, while the military said it downed 187 aerial targets. Yesterday, a Russian drone hit a train at Yahodyn station near the Ukraine-Poland border minutes after former CIA director David Petraeus had travelled through the same route.

James Rodriguez said yesterday that he is retiring from Colombia duty after 131 caps and 31 goals. He leaves as Colombia's most-capped player and its second-highest scorer behind Radamel Falcao Garcia.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates and signaled borrowing costs may stay higher for longer, sending Wall Street lower. CNN and CBS News reported that Russia may have helped Iran more precisely target U.S. sites in the Middle East, while newly released footage and photos showed extensive damage at American bases.