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NATO fighters escort Russian aircraft 24 times in June — Lithuanian Defense Ministry

The air escort procedure is a routine control measure for the alliance

VILNIUS, July 7. /TASS/. NATO fighter jets, rotationally stationed at Lithuania's Zokniai Air Base, escorted Russian military aircraft 24 times in June near the airspace of the Baltic republic, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry reported.

"The first week of the month was the most active, with seven escorts. Subsequently, fighter jets scrambled four to five times each week," the statement reads.

The air escort procedure is a routine control measure for the alliance. NATO forces resorted to it 19 times in March, 20 times in April, and nine times in May. The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly stated that Russian military aircraft conduct flights to and from the Kaliningrad Region over neutral waters in strict compliance with international airspace regulations.

Overflight control over the Baltic states, which lack their own air forces, is provided by their NATO allies. Since 2004, fighter jets from NATO member states have been deployed on a rotational basis to the Zokniai Air Base. In 2014, the second part of the mission was deployed to the Amari Air Base in Estonia.

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