The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said on Tuesday that it had to shake fighter jets hundreds of times this year to counter Russian warplanes near the borders of its member states in northwestern Europe.

A military alliance led by the West said that in 2021, 290 of about 370 missions were carried out in response to the activities of Russian aircraft.

“In general, the interception took place without incident when NATO planes took off to identify the approaching aircraft and escort it out of the area. Very few intercepted flights entered Allied airspace, “NATO said.

NATO interception flights are a routine event. But despite high tensions between NATO and Moscow over activities by Russian armed forces near Ukraine’s borders in recent months, the number of interceptions linked to Russia has dropped this year, the AP news agency reported.

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“NATO fighter jets are on duty 24 hours a day, ready to take off in the event of unverified flights near our Allies’ airspace,” said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu.

“NATO is vigilant and we will always do whatever it takes to protect and defend all allies.”

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Most of the interceptions in 2021 took place in the Baltic region, where NATO is conducting an air police mission for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. He then has similar missions to Albania, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Slovenia.

“Across Europe, more than 60 NATO aircraft are on high alert at all times, ready to respond to unannounced military flights, as well as civilian aircraft losing communication with air traffic controllers for any reason – from technical problems to hijackings,” he said. said NATO.

(With contributions from agencies)