Poland’s armed forces said Wednesday that two of its fighter jets had intercepted and escorted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea one day prior.
The Polish operational command said the Russian Il-20 surveillance aircraft was flying in international airspace without filing a flight plan and with its transponder turned off, making it invisible to civilian radar.
“The aircraft did not violate Polish airspace,” the command said in a statement on social media.
It added that two Polish MiG-29 fighter jets visually identified and escorted the Russian aircraft out of the area.
Operational command spokesman Jacek Goryszewski told Polish media, “Our pilots could have taken further actions if the Russian pilots took steps that we wouldn’t want, like violating our airspace or performing other dangerous maneuvers.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry has not commented on the flight of its Il-20, a Soviet-designed intelligence and electronic surveillance platform capable of intercepting radio communications and radar emissions, or the Polish interception.
The interception comes amid rising alert levels across NATO’s eastern flank, where several member states have reported increased Russian air activity near their borders.
In September, three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for about 12 minutes and Poland reported more than 20 Russian drones crossing into its territory. The Kremlin denied the border incursions.
Poland is a staunch ally of Ukraine and has been a key transit point for Western arms heading to the embattled country since Russia invaded it in 2022.
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