US intercepts Russian warplanes near Alaska as Ukraine peace talks stall

NORAD confirmed Russian encroachment was common. (Image: Getty)

Russia warplanes have been buzzing the US ever since the apparent breakdown in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by President Donald Trump.

Three Russian military planes have been intercepted over US Air Defense Identification Zones off the coast of Alaska in less than a week, Defense Command (NORAD) has confirmed.

This comes after Trump welcomed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to Alaska, which is only two-and-a-half miles from Russia at its closest point, to discuss potential ways to bring the Ukraine-Russia war to an end.

The pair failed to reach an immediate deal, but Trump insisted "great progress" was made before hosting Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky and other European and NATO leaders two days later.

Since the conclusion of both sets of diplomatic meetings, Moscow has accused the West of trying to "block" peace negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict, citing European security guarantees as an issue.

As negotiations continue to see an end to the war, a recent study by the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), published in June, found that more than 1,000,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured since its invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, while Ukraine has suffered 400,000 total casualties.

This latest twist involved Russian military aircraft being detected over the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, a portion of international airspace which requires passing planes to identify themselves for national security reasons.

The three aircraft didn't stray into US territory, but failed to make their presence known via the correct procedures. The latest excursion marked the seventh time Russian jets have strayed into the zone.

“This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” NORAD confirmed.

Trump and Putin did not reach an agreement to end Russia's war on Ukraine. (Image: Getty)

Five NORAD planes, made up of an E-3, two F-16s, and two KC-135 tankers, were sent “to intercept and visually identify” the aircraft on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, last week.

The statement added: "NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America."

Similar Russian encroachment operations were flagged last fall, causing the US military to deploy roughly 130 service members to a remote location in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Both last year and 2023 saw 26 instances of Russian aircraft entering the ADIZ, according to NORAD.