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German Air Force intercepts Russian jets over Baltic Sea

April 26, 2023

The Luftwaffe said it had identified three aircraft on reconnaissance flights. Russian military aircraft regularly fly between mainland Russia and the Kaliningrad exclave, passing over the Baltic Sea.

https://p.dw.com/p/4QZAh
Russian Sukhoi Su-27 in flight, pictured from below
Russian military jets frequently enter the airspace over the Baltic Sea, amid tensions between Moscow and NATO member statesImage: Vitaly Timkiv/Sputnik/IMAGO

Germany and the UK have intercepted three Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea, the German Air Force said on Wednesday.

"Reconnaissance flights intercepted. German and British Eurofighters were alerted to identify three military aircraft," the Luftwaffe tweeted.

"The two SU-27 Flankers and an IL-20 from Russia were flying again without transponder signals in international airspace over the Baltic Sea," it said.

Earlier this month, the UK took over the NATO military alliance's Baltic policing mission from Germany. The three Baltic states — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — do not have their own jets.

Russian military aircraft regularly fly between mainland Russia and the Kaliningrad exclave, passing over the Baltic Sea. The Russian territory of Kaliningrad borders Poland and Lithuania, which are members of NATO and the European Union.

On Tuesday, the Royal Norwegian Air Force identified a group of Russian jets in international airspace over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.

sdi/wd (Reuters, AFP)