Russian Plane Intercepted Over NATO Country

A photo taken on July 23, 2006 shows an Russian IL-20M (Ilyushin 20m) plane landing at an unknown location.

A Russian Federation aircraft was intercepted Monday by Poland’s Armed Forces, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, by the Polish RSZ Operational Command.

The post in Polish translates to, “On May 6, 2024, a MiG-29 duty pair from the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork intercepted and visually identified a Russian Federation aircraft. The fighters intercepted an II-20 (Ilyushin) plane that took off from an airport in the Królewiec Oblast and continued its flight in international space over the Baltic Sea, performing a reconnaissance mission, without violating Polish territorial waters.”

Operational Command also says that Monday’s interception marks the second time in less than a week that the same Russian plane has been intercepted by the Polish armed forces.

“The same plane was also intercepted on May 3, 2024, by the F-16 duty pair from the 31st Tactical Air Base in Krzesiny.”

“Protection of Polish airspace is the foundation of our country’s security. Thanks to the efficient operation of ground staff and aircraft crews, we can be sure that we are protected against airborne threats,” the post states.

Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin and the Polish RSZ Operational Command via email Tuesday for comment.

The Ilyushin II-20M dates back to the Cold War and is used for electronic and communications intelligence. It was first observed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1978 and had its first flight in 1968. The II-20M is equipped with electronic intelligence equipment.

Last week, Japanese fighter jets were scrambled twice against Russian military aircraft conducting suspected reconnaissance activities, Japan’s defense ministry said. One of those aircraft was reportedly a Russian Air Force Il-20M intelligence-gathering plane.

The Polish interception also comes on the heels of footage released by the Russian Ministry of Defense showing a U.S. fighter jet tracking Russian military aircraft flying over the Bering Sea, near Alaskan airspace, on May 2.

The Russian ministry said its aircraft—two Tu-95 strategic missile carriers—were carrying out a scheduled flight near the western coast of the U.S. state. During parts of the flight, the two missile carriers, which were escorted by Russian Su-30 jets, were accompanied by fighter jets from other countries, the ministry reported.

The clip clearly shows a U.S. F-16 fighter jet—the same type provided to Ukraine to help it in its war against invading Russian forces—flying close to the Russian aircraft. At one point in the video, a Russian Su-30 and the U.S. F-16 are seen close to each other.

In a statement, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said four Russian military aircraft were “detected and tracked” in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on May 2.

“The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” NORAD said.

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