Kremlin propaganda shows off bomber flights near NATO airspace - CCD
Su‑34 bomber (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
The Russian Ministry of Defense is spreading reports that its strategic bombers carried out another planned flight near the borders of the Scandinavian countries. The flight was accompanied by NATO combat aircraft being scrambled, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
The aircraft in question were Tu‑95MS strategic bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, which Russia has actively used to strike civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Russian propaganda emphasizes that the flight was conducted in accordance with international rules for the use of airspace, but makes no secret that such flights are a show of force intended to intimidate Europe and NATO, the CCD notes.
Notably, these flights took place on December 25, when most European countries were celebrating Christmas.
“Although Russian officials repeatedly claim there are ‘no plans for Russia to attack Europe,’ in reality the Kremlin systematically resorts to threats and overt intimidation actions, attempting through such measures to influence public sentiment in European countries and hinder allies from supporting Ukraine,” analysts at the Center explained.
Russian aircraft near NATO member countries
On the night of December 25, Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent nuclear bombers to threaten northern Britain. They flew a long-distance route over the Norwegian Sea, prompting NATO to scramble fighter jets.
Su‑33 fighters escorted the long-range bombers during the flight, which journalists noted may have been a deliberate attempt to provoke the West along the path of Santa Claus’s flight from the North Pole.
That same night, the Polish Air Force scrambled fighter jets to intercept and escort a Russian reconnaissance plane flying near Polish airspace.
Also in Poland on the same day, another incursion of airspace by balloons from Belarus was recorded.
In September, NATO scrambled fighters due to a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea. Two days earlier, on September 19, Russian MiG‑31 fighters violated Estonian airspace and remained there for 12 minutes.
