Moscow says it intercepted US bombers over the Baltic Sea | outside

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, these were two US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers. Moscow sent two Su-27 and Su-35 fighters into the air to intercept the American planes. After that, the Russian planes returned “safely to their base.” The ministry said the intervention was carried out “in strict accordance with international rules on the use of airspace”.

Moscow has repeatedly claimed in recent weeks that it intercepted several Western aircraft. Russia said last Monday that it had intercepted two NATO planes, a French and a German military plane, that were flying over the Baltic Sea and trying to violate the “Russian border”.

In recent months, Moscow itself has been regularly accused of crossing the borders of the airspace of European countries. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, there were more frequent incidents between Russian and NATO aircraft.

One of the most notable incidents occurred over the Black Sea early this month, when a Polish border guard plane encountered “life-threatening actions” by a Russian fighter jet. According to the Poles, the Russian plane made “aggressive and dangerous maneuvers” without first making radio contact. For example, it was said that the Russian plane only flew 5 meters in front of the Polish plane at one point. As a result, the pilot of the Polish plane had temporarily lost control of his plane.

In March, an American drone and a Russian plane collided over the Black Sea. The drone crashed. Countries blame each other for this.

According to the US military, there is “a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with US and allied aircraft over international airspace.” These are “dangerous and can lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.”

See also. For example, Russian aircraft previously shot down an American drone over the Black Sea