A Russian Su-24 bomber, which was conducting "dangerous" maneuvers in the international airspace over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by Polish fighter jets recently.
Polish news outlet RMF24 reported that the supersonic, all-weather tactical bomber was forced to retreat after it was detected and intercepted near the highly militarized Kaliningrad Oblast —a semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea, surrounded by Poland to the south and Lithuania in western Russia.
"These maneuvers performed by the Russian Su-24 show that the actions were dangerous and intentional," Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz was quoted as saying.
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"We are resistant to provocations, but we react appropriately, individually and collectively," the defence minister said.
NATO jets have been frequently intercepting Russian aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea without transponders that helps ensure safe air traffic in the international airspace. Russian flights often engage in the high-risk behaviour of flying from Kaliningrad without transponders and without establishing contact with regional air traffic control.
Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been incidents of Russian projectiles entering Polish airspace, leading to strong objections from the country and increased monitoring by NATO as Poland hosts a huge amount of NATO infrastructure.
Earlier, claiming that Russia was testing the air defence system of Poland, Polish Brigadier General Tomasz Drewniak had said, "By releasing the device onto our territory, the Russians are checking how our system is raised, at what time we raise the alert forces into the air."
