The spy plane drama came after Poland was forced to scramble F-16 fighters to head off the Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea
A Polish air force F-16 is flanked on either side by Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets (file photo)(Image: Aleksander Kalka/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
NATO fighters were scrambled for the second time in two days to intercept a Russian Il-20 spy plane snooping on Western defences.
The incident occurred as Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he will match a Vladimir Putin ceasefire in the war for 32-hour ceasefire marking Orthodox Easter this weekend.
The spy plane drama came as Poland was forced to scramble F-16 fighters to head off the Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
The Putin plane was flying in international waters “without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off”.
A Polish statement said: “Such provocative actions by the Russian Federation do not go unanswered – we are vigilant, responsive, and constantly ready to protect Polish airspace.”
A similar incident occurred on Wednesday with F-16s scrambled by Poland to intercept a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft after it was spotted flying with its transponder turned off over the Baltic Sea.
The Il-20 is a slow-moving Russian spy plane packed with sensors, used to hoover up electronic signals and monitor potential battlefields from a distance.
