Nato has once again been forced to scramble fighter jets after the "cruel" Vladimir Putin breached Lithuania's airspace. Lithuanian President Gitana Nauseda confirmed on Thursday night that his nation's airspace was violated by Russian warplanes.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says pressure and sanctions are changing Vladimir Putin's calculus as Russia deals with heavy military losses in Ukraine as the war continues.

The latest incursion comes after Russian drones invaded the airspaces of Denmark, Estonia, Norway and Poland last month.

NATO member Lithuania said two Russian military aircraft entered its airspace on Thursday for about 18 seconds, prompting a formal protest and a reaction from NATO forces, while Russia denied the incident.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte defended President Donald Trump's leadership on Ukraine, saying only Trump has the power to "get this done" and bring lasting peace. REPORTER: Secretary General, can I just ask you,

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to visit the United States on 21-22 October to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the Alliance's backing for Ukraine and Trump's peace efforts . Details: Rutte is travelling to meet Trump on 22 October to discuss issues related to Ukraine.

Russia appears to have been deterred by NATO's firm response last month to incursions into Polish and Estonian airspace, but Moscow is expected to continue testing boundaries, the U.S. general serving as NATO's top commander said on Tuesday.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said “firepower” is coming to Ukraine through European nations’ purchases of US weapons, but whether that includes American-made Tomahawk missiles is still not clear.

Trump has pushed NATO members to spend at least 5 percent of their GDP on national defense. At a NATO summit in The Hague in June, most members agreed to a spending target of 5 percent of GDP — 3.5 percent on core military expenditure and 1.5 percent in defense-related areas such as military mobility by 2035.