NATO planes took off a total of 290 times in 2021 to intercept a Russian military aircraft that came too close to a member state. This happened most often in the Baltic region (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). NATO announced this on Tuesday, according to various news agencies. Most of the actions were aimed at identifying and diverting Russian aircraft. According to NATO, this happened “without incident”.
“Very few intercepted aircraft entered Allied airspace,” the military alliance said. The number of interventions by NATO countries has fallen compared to last year, when 350 aircraft took off in response to possible Russian threats. Agreements have been made between the Western alliance and Russia; the military aircraft may not come too close to the airspace of a Member State. The Netherlands and Belgium monitor the airspace above the Benelux.
Also read: Punish Russia before they invade us, says President Zelensky
A total of 60 aircraft in Europe are on standby 24 hours a day to intervene in unannounced military actions or to anticipate commercial flights that lose contact with air traffic controllers. This happened about eighty times this year.
tensions
Tensions between NATO countries and Russia have increased in recent times due to the Russian military presence on the border with Ukraine. Recently, a brief published verdict by a court in Rostov appeared to confirm Russian military deployment in the separatist-controlled area of Ukraine. The Kremlin itself has always denied this, but a judge stated that food parcels were sent every two weeks to the border area for a total of 26,000 soldiers.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, believes that European countries should punish Russia with economic sanctions. Earlier, G7 countries threatened with “unprecedented” economic consequences for the Russians if the country intervenes in Ukraine. The G7 countries condemned Russia’s ‘aggressive’ approach in the border area with Ukraine.
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