On February 20–26 fighter aircraft conducting the NATO Air Policing Missions in the Baltic states were scrambled three times to identify and escort aircraft of the Russian Federation flying in violation of flight rules in international airspace over the Baltic Sea and to patrol the airspace over the border with the Russian Federation and Belarus.
On February 20 NATO fighter aircraft intercepted one AN-124 flying through international airspace from Kaliningrad to mainland Russia. It had no pre-filed flight plan, the crew maintained radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre but the onboard transponder was off.
On February 22 the NATO Air Policing fighter aircraft were patrolling the Baltic airspace border with the Russian Federation and Belarus.
On February 22 NATO fighter jets were scrambled to escort one IL-18 flying in international airspace from the mainland of the Russian Federation to Kaliningrad. The crew had the pre-filed flight plan, kept the onboard transponder on and radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre.
