The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

NATO jets intercept six Russian aircraft flying over Baltic Sea

by Elsa Court and The Kyiv Independent news desk September 22, 2024 12:03 PM 2 min read
A picture released by the German and Latvian Air Forces on Sept. 22, 2024. (German Air Force / X)
This audio is created with AI assistance

NATO jets intercepted six Russian aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea without transponders or a flight plan over the past two days, the Latvian Air Force reported late on Sept. 21.

Transponders are an electronic device that helps maintain safe air traffic in international airspace. Russian jets regularly enter the airspace above the Baltics with transponders switched off, likely to test the response of NATO states.

The Russian jets were identified over the Baltic Sea on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 and escorted by NATO Eurofighter jets as part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, the Latvian Air Force said.

According to the German Air Force, a group of five jets were identified on the afternoon of Sept. 21, consisting of one Sukhoi Su-35 and four Sukhoi Su-30MKIs.

In August, the German Air Force reported that Russian pilots who were detected heading toward Latvian airspace "behaved uncooperatively but not aggressively" when intercepted by NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission.

"The transponders were switched off, and the pilots did not respond to radio requests,"  a German Air Force spokesperson said.

Earlier in September, a Russian Shahed-type drone equipped with an explosive crashed in Latvia, the first confirmed case of a Russian drone crashing on Latvian soil.

Lieutenant General Leonids Kalnins, the commander-in-chief of the Latvian Armed Forces, said on Sept. 9 that the drone was heading towards a target in Ukraine before it entered Latvia via Belarus.

The drone eventually crashed in Gaigalava parish in Rezekne district, 85 kilometers (52 miles) northwest of the Belarusian border, Kalnins said.

‘Too dangerous to ignore’ – Russia’s malicious activity in the Baltics set to test NATO resolve
“Russian intelligence is everywhere. And its propaganda is everywhere, not only in Estonia but all over the world,” Estonian President Alar Karis told the Kyiv Independent during an interview on the sidelines of the 20th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) Conference in Kyiv. Russia has been activ…

News Feed

8:08 PM

Ukrainians react to US proposal of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The U.S. media outlet Axios reported on April 23 that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included the U.S. de jure recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and de facto recognizing its control of other occupied Ukrainian territories. We asked Kyiv residents for their reactions to the U.S. proposal.
7:21 PM  (Updated: )

Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian.

"Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.