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
    3·
    1 hour 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?

    • kbobabob@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      2·
      2 hours ago

      I guess whoever the person calling the meeting is should just skip the meeting and unilaterally attack Russia?

      • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.netEnglish
        2·
        53 minutes ago

        Are you suggesting they are calling the meeting to organize an attack on Russia? I hope not because that’s ridiculous.

        They will be discussing how NATO should respond to provocations from Russia, something they should already know. NATO should have communicated clear red lines and how they will respond to Russia violating them 3 years ago, not start thinking about it today.

  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.orgEnglish
    61·
    3 hours ago

    I think it’s time the EU collectively takes Kaliningrad. Then Russia has no more pretext for flying around there and every violation becomes a proper act of aggression.

    (am I joking? Well I’m definitely not a military expert)

  • PhilipTheBucket@piefed.socialEnglish
    651·
    10 hours ago

    See, now you’ve got a problem. If you’d shot down the first one, Russia would have made a big noise and then it would have been fine. Now that you didn’t, now it’s weird if you start shooting them down.

    My advice is to just be straight about it: Publicly announce what the line is where you’ll shoot them down, and then stick to it. Even if you just announced a date when the shooting-down will start any time they enter NATO airspace, that might be fine. But you have to stick to it. Right now you’re trying to figure out how to make them stop without shooting them down, and that approach just doesn’t work. Like you’re all surprised they don’t establish radio contact. Bro… that is not the game you are engaged in.

    (You might also want to confiscate $10 billion in frozen Russian assets to give to Ukraine for each incursion, just to respond to what’s already happened… but again without shooting them down it’s not going to accomplish anything. The money’s already gone honestly, and they know that, they’re just waiting for you to figure it out and go through your whole “process” and make it official, and they think you’re stupid and weak for every year that goes by that you’re not doing that.)

    • mgnome@piefed.socialEnglish
      101·
      6 hours ago

      It comes down to realization that despite Ukrainian politicians seeking those “security guarantees” from allies it’s actually the other way around - Ukraine is the security guarantee of Europe, and right now Russians do such bold shit, because they think that Ukraine’s defense is about to crumble, so they are already preparing to move further.

      So folks being afraid to shoot down Russians who violate their borders simply because they can - is an expected consequence of “we can’t help Ukraine, because it’ll lead to escalation”, while there’s just one side doing the escalation, and it’s not Ukraine.

      • brachiosaurus@mander.xyzEnglish
        1·
        19 minutes ago

        so they are already preparing to move further.

        They are barely managing the war with ukraine and you want me to believe they are moving further than that? EU countries combined are matching already russia military expenses, they are looking for excuses to boost war industry even more. Check the data and watch out for propaganda.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.worldEnglish
    25·
    11 hours ago

    Weird how Putin doesn’t seem affected by Trump’s aura of respect that would prevent him from daring to attack the West like Donnie claimed he was.

  • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldEnglish
    62·
    9 hours ago

    Too many weaselly people-pleasers making the decisions so they back off instead of risking a little apocalyptic super-war. Now we get this “I’m not touching you (with guns and missiles (yet))” bullshit that drags on forever instead. Enough foreplay and edging, it’s time to fuck.

  • barnaclebutt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    62·
    9 hours ago

    I guess it’s time to move battleships into the black sea ( which should have been done a long time ago)