In 2021, NATO aircraft most often flew in eastern Europe due to Russian military aircraft that flew "too close" to the borders of the airspace of the member countries of the alliance. Reported by the Associated Press, citing a statement from the organization.

“In 2021, in response to the actions of the Russian aviation, 290 of about 370 sorties were flown. Most of them took place in the Baltic region around Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where the organization carries out air security, ”the alliance said.

At the same time, NATO noted that "as a rule, the interception took place without incident."

“Very few intercepted aircraft entered the Allied airspace,” the alliance said.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said that NATO is preparing for an armed conflict with Russia. He drew attention to the fact that in the military strategy of the North Atlantic Alliance in 2019, our country is "without any equivalents identified as the main source of threats to coalition security."

According to him, NATO's deliberate provocations near the Russian borders are likely to escalate into an armed conflict. Fomin added that in the Black Sea region, compared to 2020, the intensity of the use of reconnaissance aircraft increased by more than 60%, and the number of sorties increased from 436 to 710.

bbabo.Net