NATO has intercepted a Russian spy plane over the Baltic Sea. The interception represents a major issue, since there have been heightened tensions in the area. Estonia contacted the Russian ambassador on October 22, after the Ilyushin-20 plane entered its airspace for approximately one minute. Russia came back with a response and stated that the Ilyushin-20 plane had been on a training flight and that the Estonian airspace had not been violated in any way. This is not the first incident in which Russian planes have been reported to violate border regulations in the area. Last week, Sweden had reported a similar incident about a suspected Russian submarine. The submarine was spotted in Swedish waters, south of Stockholm.
Because of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, sanctions have been imposed against certain senior key figures in Moscow, as well as bans on EU goods, in response from Russia. Just last month, Russia was accused by Estonia of abducting one of its security officials on the border.
NATO stated that the Russian spy plane, the Ilyushin-20 had taken off from the Russian Baltic coast of Kaliningrad on October 21. It was first intercepted by Danish F-16 jets, when it approached Denmark. Afterwards the Ilyushin-20 headed north, towards Sweden. Swedish planes also intercepted the Ilyushin-20 plane, and then the spy plane entered the Estonian airspace for a minute. Soon after that it was escorted out by Portuguese F16 planes. According to a Russian military spokesperson, the Ilyushin-20 had taken off from the Khrabrovo airfield from Kaliningrad. The Russians say the plane was in military training over neutral waters over the Baltic Sea. Nonetheless, the Ilyushin-20 was escorted out for violating the international regulations on the use of airspace. Such flights represent a potential threat for civil aviation, since the Russian military tends not to file some of their flight plans. Usually this means that civilian air traffic control can’t manage to detect such planes in time. There is high risk of interference with civilian air traffic and there can be dramatic outcomes in such situations. NATO allies monitor their airspace 24/7, as well as all the flight activities over Europe.