Finnish and other NATO fighter jets escort Russian bombers over Baltic Sea

Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Romanian, and French fighter jets escorted Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea on Monday, according to reports from the Associated Press (AP).

The incident involved at least 12 Russian warplanes, including two long-range Tupolev Tu-22 supersonic bombers and Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets, AP reported. The Russian aircraft were intercepted by French jets deployed from a Latvian airbase, alongside fighters from the five other nations.

Russia’s defence ministry stated that the overflight was planned and conducted in international airspace, not violating any national borders, AP noted.

Similar incidents, where Russia has allegedly breached agreed flight rules over the Baltic Sea, occurred multiple times last week, according to Latvian news agency LETA and the Baltic News Service (BNS).