LONDON, October 11. /TASS/. The United Kingdom, together with the US and other NATO members, carried out a 12-hour mission on patrolling NATO airspace near Russian borders, using combat aviation amid drone incidents in Poland and other countries, UK Secretary of State for Defense John Healey said.
"This was a substantial joint mission with our US and NATO allies," he said, as quoted by Reuters.
"Not only does this provide valuable intelligence to boost the operational awareness of our Armed Forces, but sends a powerful message of NATO unity to Putin and our adversaries," Healey added.
An RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic surveillance aircraft and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane flew from the Arctic region past Belarus and Ukraine on October 9, supported by a US Air Force KC-135 refueling aircraft.
Drone incidents
On the morning of September 10, Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command announced the destruction of several objects identified as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that had violated national airspace. According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, nineteen violations of the country’s airspace were reported overnight to September 10. In response to the incident, NATO, at Poland’s request, invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, launching consultations among alliance members.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that during the night of September 9-10, Russian forces targeted Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in the Ivano-Frankovsk, Khmelnitsky, and Zhitomir regions, as well as in Vinnitsa and Lvov. The ministry emphasized that no targets within Polish territory were planned for destruction. It also noted that the UAVs allegedly crossing into Polish airspace had a maximum range of 700 kilometers. The agency expressed its readiness to hold consultations with Poland regarding the incident.
On September 20, Czech President Petr Pavel urged to respond more aggressively to violations of NATO countries’ airspace. This call came a day after Estonia’s authorities claimed that three Russian MiG-31 fighter planes entered the country’s airspace on the morning of September 19.
Earlier, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that the country’s authorities had requested consultations with NATO members in accordance with Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty regarding the alleged airspace violation. Prior to that, the Estonian authorities claimed that, on the morning of September 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace.
In turn, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that Russian MiG-31 fighter jets did not breach Estonian airspace. According to the ministry, the jets carried out a scheduled flight from Karelia to the Kaliningrad Region. In a statement, the ministry said the flight was conducted in strict accordance with international airspace rules, without crossing the borders of other states, which is confirmed by objective monitoring. During the flight, the Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed route and did not violate Estonian airspace, the ministry emphasized.