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NATO jets were deployed in response.
10:31, Thu, Apr 9, 2026 Updated: 10:57, Thu, Apr 9, 2026
F-16 fighter jets were scrambled. (Image: Getty)
Polish fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian plane on Wednesday as tensions in Europe soar. The country's Operational Command explained that the Russian aircraft was flying over the Baltic Sea without a filed flight plan and the transponder was off, though there was no violation of airspace.
It said: "The F-16 fighter jets on duty successfully intercepted, visually identified, and escorted a Russian aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea from its area of responsibility." The Russian IL-20 aircraft was "performing a reconnaissance mission in international airspace without a filed flight plan", the military added.
The Russian IL-20 was on a reconnaissance mission. (Image: Getty)
The Operational Command added: "aircraft interceptions are not a demonstration of force, but are one of the basic tools for ensuring real control over the country's airspace.
"Their purpose is to quickly identify objects that do not respond to air traffic services calls, are operating without the required flight plan, or are violating applicable regulations.
"Thanks to the interception procedure, it is possible to immediately determine the nature of the flight, assess the potential threat, and, if necessary, take corrective action, such as changing course or directing the aircraft to land.
"These actions help reduce the risk of incidents and ensure the safety of both civilian traffic and critical infrastructure."
French Rafale aircraft were also deployed on Wednesday for a Baltic Air Policing mission, escorting and monitoring a Russian reconnaissance aircraft.
The IL-20 was spotted in the southern Baltic, near the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian airspaces. It was not immediately clear whether this was the same incident Poland responded to.
The French Joint Staff said: "Rafale aircraft deployed called into action at very short notice for the Baltic Air Policing mission. Maximum responsiveness to protect the Alliance's territory.
"Escort and monitoring of a Russian reconnaissance aircraft IL-20 in the southern Baltic, near the airspaces of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Constant readiness in support of Europe's eastern flank security."
This comes after Kremlin propagandists on state-controlled TV threatened that if Sir Keir Starmer carries out his threat to board and arrest Moscow-linked vessels, Russia would "destroy any ship that tries to enter British ports".
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On the prime-time TV show, Putin mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov said: "Why don't we, for example, say that any country that tries to seize a ship, and we don't care which one, will be subjected to a nuclear, or non-nuclear, missile strike by us?"
Fellow propagandist and historian Andrey Sidorov then endorsed the blowing up of SS Richard Montgomery in 1944, an American Liberty ship that sank, while loaded with explosives, in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness.
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