ST. PETERSBURG, April 25. /TASS/. The West has increased aerial reconnaissance near the borders of Russia and Belarus almost tenfold in recent years, First Deputy State Secretary of the Belarusian Security Council Pavel Muraveiko said.

"Until 2021, two to four spy planes per week flew in the airspace of the Baltic states and Poland. They conducted reconnaissance in our territory, going 600-700 km inside Russia, and sometimes up to 1,200 km," he said on the sidelines of the international security meeting in St. Petersburg.

According to Muraveiko, now the reconnaissance activity against Russia and Belarus has intensified. "Today, 20-30 reconnaissance planes fly in the airspace of the Baltic states and Poland weekly. This depends on weather conditions and other factors. In addition, strategic reconnaissance planes from the mainland of the United States are involved in such reconnaissance," the security official pointed out.