NATO Jets Intercept Russian Bombers Over Baltic Sea

NATO fighter jets intercepted Russian strategic bombers and escort fighters over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea on Monday, as part of the alliance's routine air policing operations on its eastern flank.

The interception involved two Russian Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers accompanied by approximately 10 Su-30 and Su-35 fighters, which took turns providing escort during a flight lasting more than four hours. French Rafale jets, armed with air-to-air missiles and stationed at Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, led the response. They were joined in the air by aircraft from Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark and Romania to monitor and identify the Russian formation, according to the French military detachment.

The Russian Defense Ministry described the mission as a scheduled operation conducted in strict compliance with international airspace rules. "At certain stages of the route, the long-range bombers were accompanied by fighters of foreign states," the ministry stated on Telegram. It noted that such flights by long-range aviation crews occur regularly over neutral waters in regions including the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Baltic Sea and Black Seas. The ministry did not...