Polish jets intercept Russian spy plane over Baltic Sea: defence minister

Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian spy plane over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday after it approached Poland's maritime border while flying in international airspace, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

Image:

Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces/Dowództwo Operacyjne/X

The incident occurred shortly after noon about 30 kilometres off the Polish coastal town of Ustka, Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.

A pair of Polish military aircraft on NATO air policing duty intercepted the Russian Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance plane, he said.

After establishing contact and signalling that the aircraft should leave the area, the Russian plane turned away and flew back toward Russia, according to Kosiniak-Kamysz.

He described the incident as the first Russian attempt "in some time" to approach Poland's maritime border in order to gather intelligence on the country's air defence systems.

"This shows that Russia continues to wage hybrid warfare, conducts reconnaissance operations and remains hostile toward all NATO member states," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

He added that the incident "underscored the threat posed by Russia" and should serve as a reminder to those arguing that support for Ukraine should be reduced.

Russia "remains a direct and the greatest threat to the NATO alliance," Kosiniak-Kamysz said, referring to conclusions reached by allied leaders at the recent NATO summit in Ankara.

The Operational Command of Poland's Armed Forces confirmed the interception in a statement posted on X.

It said the Russian aircraft was conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace without filing a flight plan and with its transponder switched off.

14 lipca br. para dyżurna myśliwców Sił Powietrznych 🇵🇱 dokonała skutecznego przechwycenia, identyfikacji wizualnej oraz eskortowania z rejonu odpowiedzialności samolotu Federacji Rosyjskiej, który wykonywał lot nad Morzem Bałtyckim.

Polskie myśliwce przechwyciły samolot Ił-20… pic.twitter.com/Y9jVF9OVqm

— Dowództwo Operacyjne RSZ (@DowOperSZ) July 14, 2026

The command said that the aircraft did not violate Polish airspace and said such interceptions are a routine part of NATO's air policing and regional airspace security missions.

The last interception of a Russian reconnaissance aircraft by Polish fighter jets over the Baltic Sea took place in May. Polish authorities say similar incidents have occurred at least a dozen times this year.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP