Germany and Britain intercepted three Russian military reconnaissance planes over the Baltic SeaThe German air force reported Wednesday.
“Reconnaissance flights intercepted. German and British Eurofighters were alerted to identify three military aircraft. The two SU-27 Flankers and a Russian IL-20 were again flying without transponder signals in international airspace over the Baltic Sea,” the air force said on Twitter.
Germany and Great Britain participate within the framework of NATO in the surveillance of the airspace of the Baltic States. Incidents with Russian planes and those of NATO countries have multiplied in recent years, even before the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
A similar interception occurred on April 17. They have happened in the Baltic Sea, but also in the Black Sea and elsewhere. In March, Russian aviation intercepted an American Reaper MQ-9 drone in the Black Sea, which crashed into the waters. The incident caused a brief escalation in tensions between Washington and Moscow.
(Also: Russia justifies in the UN the invasion of Ukraine and lashes out at the West).
Since the NATO states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania do not have their own combat aircraft, the military alliance has protected the Baltic airspace in north-eastern Europe since 2004. To do this, the allies periodically deploy combat aircraft and personnel in turns to the Baltic states bordering Russia.
The German army transferred after eight months – at the beginning of April – the command of the NATO air surveillance mission to the United Kingdom, but until the end of the month it will continue to be supported by the German air forcewhich will begin its withdrawal at the beginning of May.
With information from EFE and AFP
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