MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. Russian fighter jets have been scrambled 23 times on interception missions near Russian borders in the past week, the Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper cited the Russian Defense Ministry as saying.

According to the defense ministry, 31 foreign aircraft were conducting reconnaissance near Russian borders. The ministry added that violations of the Russian airspace were prevented.

The defense ministry said that Russian pilots performed 273 sorties at 75 aerodromes in the past week.