WARSAW: Poland stated on Friday (Oct 31) that its jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance airplane over the Baltic Sea for the third time this week.
The plane didn’t violate Polish airspace, the Operational Command of the Polish Military stated, however as in earlier incidents, it had no filed flight plan and its transponders have been turned off.
“That is already the third such state of affairs this week, confirming the rising exercise of Russian aviation within the Baltic area,” the military stated.
Polish MiG-29 fighter plane had additionally intercepted a Russian reconnaissance airplane over the Baltic Sea on Thursday within the second such incident this week, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz stated.
NATO EASTERN FLANK ON ALERT
The Polish Military Operational Command described the second incident on the social media platform X.
“On October 30, 2025, earlier than 9.00 a.m., the on-duty pair of MiG-29 fighters of the (Polish) Air Power carried out one other interception this week of a Russian Federation reconnaissance plane Il-20 conducting a flight over the Baltic Sea,” it stated.
“The plane, flying in worldwide airspace with out a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off, was intercepted, recognized, and escorted out of the world of duty. There was no violation of Polish airspace.”
Poland‘s military additionally stated on Wednesday that Polish jets had intercepted a Russian plane flying a reconnaissance mission in worldwide airspace over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday.
“Right now MiG-29s intercepted a Russian reconnaissance airplane over the Baltic Sea,” Kosiniak-Kamysz stated, describing it as identical to the incident on Tuesday.
International locations on NATO’s japanese flank have been on excessive alert for potential airspace incursions since September, when three Russian army jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes, days after greater than 20 Russian drones had entered Polish airspace.
