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UK fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft near NATO borders

The UK Ministry of Defense said the Russian crews did not comply with international regulations by "failing to contact the relevant flight information regions"

LONDON, June 10. /TASS/. Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter jets of the UK Royal Air Force took off from Estonia’s Amari air base on Friday morning to intercept Russian aircraft, the UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Initially, the jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian transport aircraft, an An-12 and an An-72, flying towards Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Subsequently, the fighters were re-tasked to intercept two Tu-22M bombers and two Su-30SM fighters that were also flying over the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.

During various stages of the mission, UK aircraft were joined by Finland’s F-18 and Sweden’s Gripen aircraft, as well as F-16 fighter jets of Portugal and Romania. The UK Ministry of Defense claimed the Russian crews were not complying with international norms "by failing to communicate with the relevant Flight Information Regions."

The statement says that Russia has been actively monitoring NATO exercises in the Baltic Sea.

On Thursday, warplanes of the United Kingdom and Sweden took off to intercept Russia’s Il-20 reconnaissance plane, accompanied by a Su-27 fighter jet. The UK Defense Ministry said Russian pilots also made no contact with the relevant Flight Information Regions, but remained in international airspace and flew in a professional manner.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on many occasions that all planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces perform their flights in strict compliance with international rules.

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