WARSAW, May 13 (Reuters) – Poland said its airforce intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over international waters in the Baltic Sea, calling the Russian flight a provocation and potential threat.
“The machine was flying in international airspace without a filed flight plan and with transponders turned off. There was no violation of Polish airspace,” the Polish army said in a social media post.
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said flights without transponders on could pose a threat to other aircraft and that its pilots would always respond immediately.
“Our aircraft intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft over international waters in the Baltic Sea. This is another aggressive action by the Russian Federation and a test of our air defense systems,” he wrote on X.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Polish army said it had undertaken military aviation operations in Polish airspace as a preventative measure due to Russian strikes on Ukraine.
“Ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems that were activated have returned to standard operational activities,” the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces wrote on X.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Karol Badohal; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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