Russian spy plane intercepted near Poland's border
Photo: Russian Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft (Getty Images)
A Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft approached Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea. In response, a pair of fighter jets was scrambled to intercept the aircraft, according to the Polish outlet RMF24.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, July 14, shortly after noon, about 30 kilometers from the city of Ustka over the Baltic Sea. According to Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the aircraft.
"A pair of our alert fighter jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft that attempted to enter Polish airspace. Let this incident make it clear to everyone trying to distort reality that Russia poses a direct threat," the minister said.
After establishing radio contact and receiving orders to leave the area, the Russian crew changed course and headed back toward Russia.
The Polish Defense Minister noted that this was the first attempt in a long time by a Russian aircraft to approach the country's maritime border to gather intelligence on its air defense systems.
Earlier, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Russia currently lacks the resources to attack Poland because of its ongoing war against Ukraine.
At the same time, he warned that the Kremlin could still stage isolated provocations to test NATO's resolve.
However, Sikorski believes that publicly disclosing such scenarios in advance could help deter Moscow from further aggressive actions.
