Russia intercepts US bombers
Two strategic long-range bombers of the US Air Force were intercepted by Russian fighter jets. The Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow speaks of their approaching the country's border. However, there is contradiction from Finland.
The Russian Defense Ministry, according to its own statements, mobilized its air force to prevent two US bombers from overflying its border in the Barents Sea in the Arctic. The Russian Defense Ministry declared that it had dispatched fighter jets to intercept an "air target approaching the state border of the Russian Federation". The crews of the Russian fighter jets identified the aerial target as "two US B-52H bombers".
"As the Russian fighter jets approached, the American strategic bombers corrected their course, withdrew, and then turned away from the Russian state border," it was reported. Russian fighter jets of the types MiG-29 and MiG-31 were reportedly used in the operation.
The Finnish military confirmed the flight of the two US bombers. However, according to Finnish reports, the B-52H bombers were only in the airspace of the country that joined NATO last year. This was a training flight, during which the bombers were reportedly flying from Norway to the south over Lapland.
Russia warns against "direct confrontation"
There have long been complaints from the Russian side about drone flights of the US Air Force. These flights over international waters take place, according to Washington, in neutral airspace and in accordance with international law.
However, Moscow reacted with intensified rhetoric in recent months regarding the exercises: In June, the Russian Defense Ministry warned, in the face of increased US drone flights over the Black Sea, of a "direct confrontation" with NATO countries.
The increased number of US drone flights showed "the growing involvement of the United States and NATO countries in the conflict in Ukraine," it was said then. Moscow accused Washington of using the flights to support Ukraine in attacks on the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Regularly, Russian fighter jets and bombers are intercepted by Western fighter jets, especially over the Baltic Sea. Most of these were without a previously filed flight plan, transponder signal, or radio contact.
The escalating tensions between Russia and the United States of America extend to the Arctic, as Russia deployed fighter jets to intercept American B-52H bombers approaching its border in the Barents Sea. Amidst these political tensions, Finland, a country that recently joined NATO, confirmed the flight path of the US bombers, but reported they were solely in its own airspace.
