Russia is increasingly provoking NATO countries with its aircraft flying into the airspace over the Baltic Sea.
NATO interception of Russian aircraft over the Baltic: what is known
Since 2024, the frequency of NATO warplanes being used to intercept Russian aircraft approaching NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea region has increased by 20-25%.
This is reported by Reuters.
As noted in the publication, their interlocutor from the Alliance refused to give specific figures regarding the number of flights of Russian military aircraft recorded near NATO territory.
However, according to Alliance data received at the end of 2023, NATO fighter jets took to the skies to intercept Russian military aircraft more than 300 times. At the same time, it is known that most of the incidents happened over the Baltic Sea.
Instead, the interlocutor reported that NATO had noticed changes in the composition of Russian aircraft spotted near the Alliance's territory. Now, Western pilots barely detect Russian fighter jets and strategic bombers approaching allied airspace. More often, these are surveillance planes or transport aircraft.
The report states that Russian military aircraft have long failed to transmit a transponder code indicating their location and altitude, indicate a flight plan and communicate with air traffic controllers.
The Baltic countries are sounding the alarm because of a hybrid attack by Russia
Russia regularly jams GPS signals in the Baltic Sea area, which poses a danger to civil aviation.
This was stated by the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in a conversation with the Financial Times.
If someone turns off your headlights while you're driving at night, it becomes dangerous. The situation in the Baltic region near the Russian borders is now becoming too dangerous to ignore, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, added that the Baltic states consider GPS jamming a "hybrid attack by the Russian Federation" that poses a danger to their citizens.
We will certainly discuss this with our allies.
