DOMINANT ANGLE
Paris views the double incident of September 15 as proof of Moscow's increasing military pressure on NATO's eastern flank, between the drone shot down over Lithuania and the flares fired at a Danish helicopter.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
A drone from Belarus was shot down after midnight by an Italian NATO fighter jet near the village of Pratkūnai, about a hundred kilometres from Vilnius — a first in Lithuanian airspace.
- 02
A Russian frigate fired two illuminating rockets at a Danish Fennec helicopter off Gedser on Monday evening, without warning or prior radio contact, according to the Danish army.
- 03
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte judged on Monday that the Russian strikes near Alliance territory reflected Vladimir Putin's "desperation".
ANALYSIS
Paris, September 16, 2026. The night of September 14-15 produced, in a few hours, two distinct incidents that the French press links to the same pressure exerted by Moscow on the eastern flank of NATO. Over Lithuania, a drone violated the country's airspace after midnight and was shot down near the village of Pratkūnai, not far from Kaunas, by an Italian fighter jet engaged in NATO's sky policing mission. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda praised the rapid reaction of NATO's fighters on X, while Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stated that his pilots had "neutralized a threat that probably came from Russia". However, the Lithuanian Defense Minister was cautious, judging that the drone probably did not carry explosives and that it would be necessary to wait for the examination of the debris to say "whether it is a Russian drone, possibly a provocation, or a drone from another country". According to Lithuanian public radio LRT, the device came from Belarus.
Separately, the Danish army announced that a Russian frigate had fired two flares on Monday evening towards a Fennec helicopter that was photographing it in international waters off Gedser, without warning or prior radio contact. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced an "irresponsible action"; Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called the episode "unacceptable", estimating that it could have "put human lives in danger". Copenhagen summoned the Russian ambassador. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced Russian "provocations" that she deemed irresponsible and dangerous. Moscow says it is investigating and blames the helicopter for dangerous maneuvers.
The French media link these two episodes to the warning issued on Monday by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who believes that Russian strikes near Alliance territory reflect Vladimir Putin's "desperation" and his desire to sow fear and terror. They recall that a Russian drone had struck, two days earlier, a Ukrainian passenger train on a line used a few minutes earlier by a convoy transporting Boris Johnson and Carl Bildt, and that Poland had launched preventive air operations over its territory the same night.
SOURCES (5)
- 20 MinutesMEDIUM
- L'ExpressMEDIUM
- BFMTV InternationalMEDIUM
