Sweden has scrambled military planes in response to Russian fighter planes spotted above the southern parts of the Baltic Sea.
Swedish armed forces spokesman Mikael Ågren said two Jas Gripen planes had been deployed on Skåne and Malmö in response to the Russian plane that has not raped the airspace of the most recent member of NATO.
The incident follows a series of Russian planes identified in the region during NATO military exercises in the past two weeks and a warning from the German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul of new Moscow operations to destabilize the region.
Nowsweek contacted the Russian Defense Ministry and the Swedish armed forces to comment.
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Why it matters
With the support of Sweden to the Alliance, the Baltic Sea is nicknamed a NATO lake where the members of the block surrounding the waters have reported a peak in Russian military activity. The deployment of planes by Sweden is the last sign of tensions in the Baltic region.
What to know
Oågren said the Swedish army had deployed two Jas Gripen planes on Skåne and Malmö at 6:15 p.m. Friday.
He said that the operation was not part of a planned exercise and that in a regular Swedish forces near the borders, Russian SUKHOI SU-30 planes were detected in international airspace.
Swedish newspaper AFTONBLADET said that he had received calls from readers who had seen three Swedish hunting planes above the Stockholm region.
Ågren said there had been increased activity in the region and that military aircraft observations during the Baltic Sea have become more frequent in recent weeks.
But he said that people should not worry if he hears Swedish planes in heaven because “it is the noise of freedom you hear”.
The incident occurs while Baltops-25 NATO exercises ended in the Baltic region which involved more than 40 ships, 25 planes and around 9,000 people.
During this period, there was a peak in Russian military flights operating near the NATO airspace and typhoon planes of the British Air Force based in Poland were blurred six times in as many days in response.
Meanwhile, a video published on social networks has shown that an Sukhoi Russian SU-24 fighter plane that came out of escapes on an American navy ship in international waters in the region.
What people say
The Swedish spokesperson for the Armed Forces Mikael Ågren: “It is a signal to show that we saw them and that we are on our toes, even the day before the middle of summer … All we do, we do for freedom.
“We have to keep track of planes in our neighborhood, then we have to go up and sometimes identify them. Today, we have done it and we even had photos of them.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul: “These hybrid operations and military provocations are dangerous. They are designed to destabilize our societies and test our ability to respond.”
What happens next
Wadephul warned on Friday that the Baltic Sea region becomes a dangerous hotspot where the aggressive hybrid activities of Russia “undermines our peace and security”.
In anticipation of new Russian operations in the region, NATO announced in January the launch of Baltic Sentry to strengthen the military presence of the Baltic Sea Alliance.
