Russian Il-20M reconnaissance plane ignored requests to make contact, in latest of what are seen as provocative acts by Kremlin

Russian Il-20M reconnaissance plane ignored requests to make contact, in latest of what are seen as provocative acts by Kremlin

Two German Eurofighter jets were scrambled on Sunday to intercept a Russian military aircraft above the Baltic Sea, as Estonia said it would call an emergency meeting of the UN security council after Russian planes violated its airspace.

Germany’s air force said the Russian Il-20M reconnaissance plane had switched off its transponders and ignored requests to make contact. The Eurofighters took off from the Rostock-Laage airbase to head off the aircraft as it flew in international airspace.

Tensions between Nato and Russia have been dramatically rising after a series of what European governments say are deliberate, provocative acts by the Kremlin. On Friday, three Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace in the Gulf of Finland. Moscow denies this.

  • ominous ocelot@leminal.spaceEnglish
    23·
    1 day ago

    What’s the aim here?
    Testing the west?
    Numbing NATOs reaction through repetition? - crying wolf repeatedly worked well for Hamas, but it is a bit different here.
    Some domestic politics related demonstration of power like Sapad25?

    • FishFace@lemmy.worldEnglish
      15·
      21 hours ago

      Yes, yes, yes, and also trying to scare European countries into not supporting Ukraine, either out of fear for further angering Russia, or fear that they need their equipment closer to home.

    • Pandoras_Can_Opener@mander.xyzEnglish
      15·
      24 hours ago

      William Spaniel speculates on his YouTube channel that Putin might want to provoke a shoot down to then claim NATO is the agressor. Which he may hope would rally his own people into accepting another conscription wave.

    • vga@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      51·
      22 hours ago

      He’s losing the war and is thus expecting a loss of support for the war. So he needs to extend the war or he’s dead. And he cannot just attack another country again.

      What we need to do is exactly the opposite of what he wants us to do. Which I think we are doing.

      • ominous ocelot@leminal.spaceEnglish
        2·
        21 hours ago

        Game theory? He needs the west to do what he told his people the west would do?

        But he doesn’t need the NATO to actually attack to substantiate his rhetoric. Or does he?