AP: in 2021, NATO planes took off most often to intercept Russian ships
Photo: Johanna Geron / Reuters
NATO said that in 2021, the alliance's planes most often took off due to the fact that Russian military aircraft flew “too close to the airspace of member countries.” Such details were disclosed by the AP agency.
“NATO said that 290 of the approximately 370 missions in 2021 were conducted in response to Russian aircraft,” the agency said in a statement. NATO added that most of the interception missions took place in the Baltic Sea region next to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The alliance said in a statement that the interceptions took place without incident, with NATO aircraft taking off to identify an approaching aircraft and escort it until it leaves the zone. “Very few intercepted aircraft entered Allied airspace,” the agency writes.
At the same time, the number of interceptions of Russian aircraft decreased compared to 2020. Then the alliance performed 350 flights due to Russian aircraft.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin warned that deliberate provocations by NATO near the Russian borders could with a high probability threaten an armed conflict. According to him, recently the alliance has switched to the practice of direct provocations, associated with a high risk of escalating into an armed confrontation.
