“In the late afternoon of Friday, August 28, a B52 bomber of the United States Air Force was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 fighter in international airspace over the Baltic Sea,” NATO's Allied Air Command said in a statement dated August 31.
It added that “the intercept occurred as the B52 bomber was closing in on Danish airspace in the vicinity of the Island of Bornholm.”
The Russian Su-27 was flying from the Kaliningrad region near the Polish border, according to NATO’s Allied Air Command.
The jet “followed the B52 well into Danish airspace over the island, committing a significant violation of airspace of a NATO nation,” the statement said.
'New level of Russian provocative behavior'
Gen. Jeff Harrigian, Commander of NATO’s Allied Air Command, was quoted as saying that the incident “demonstrates Russia’s disrespect of international norms and for the sovereign airspace of an Allied nation.”
“We remain vigilant, ready and prepared to secure NATO airspace 24/7,” Harrigian said, as quoted on the nato.int website.
NATO’s Allied Air Command also said that “the unauthorised intrusion of sovereign airspace is a significant violation of international law.”
It added that “Friday’s incident is the first of this kind for several years and indicates a new level of Russian provocative behavior.”
The US B52 bomber was taking part in a “long-planned training activity” called Allied Sky, “where six B52 aircraft flew over all 30 NATO member nations in one single day, accompanied by and training with around 80 fighter aircraft from across the Alliance,” according to the NATO website.
(gs)
Source: defence24.pl, ac.nato.int