Poland intercepts Russian aircraft over Baltic Sea, calls flight a provocation

Poland on Wednesday said that its air force intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying over international waters in the Baltic Sea, describing the incident as a provocation and a potential security threat.

In a post on social media, the Polish military said the Russian aircraft was operating without a submitted flight plan and had its transponders switched off.

"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.

Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said aircraft flying without active transponders could endanger civilian and military aviation, adding that Poland’s air force would continue responding rapidly to such incidents.

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"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," Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X.

Earlier in the day, the Polish military said it had launched precautionary air operations within Polish airspace following 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 said in a separate post on X.

With inputs from agencies