Russian fighter jets violate Sweden’s airspace
Sweden’s armed forces said on Wednesday that four Russian warplanes entered its airspace. Photo courtesy of the Swedish Armed Forces
March 2 (UPI) – Four Russian warplanes violated Swedish airspace on Wednesday, the Scandinavian country’s armed forces stated, prompting the country to deploy its own forces amid heightened tensions between Europe and Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The Swedish Air Force sent JAS 39 Gripen aircraft in response to two Russian SU 27s and two SU 24s that briefly entered their airspace east of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
The aircraft documented and photographed the intrusion, the Swedish Armed Forces states.
“This shows that our preparedness is good,” said the air force commander Carl-Johan Edström a statement. “We were on site to secure territorial integrity and Sweden’s borders. We have complete control over the situation.”
The intrusion occurred a day after Japan said a Russian helicopter entered its airspace hours earlier.
Tensions between democratic nations and Russia have risen since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine last week.
In response, 38 nations have imposed flight bans on Russian planes and Moscow has repeatedly been sanctioned.
Among the countries that took a stand against Russia was Sweden, whose Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson announced earlier this week that she would send 5,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine along with protective equipment.
“Sweden has not done anything similar since the Soviet Union attacked Finland in 1939,” she said a speech on Tuesday.
It also comes after Russia threatened Sweden and Finland with military and political consequences if they join NATO.