290 of 370 operations in 2021 were in reaction to the act of Russian planes: NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) stated on Tuesday that it has scrambled its fighter jets hundreds of times this year in northwest Europe to intercept airplanes, the majority of which were Russian warplanes. According to NATO, the scrambling has been done as these aircraft were hovering too close to its member nations' airspace. NATO added that 290 out of the 370 total operations performed in 2021 were in reaction to the act of Russian planes.

The majority of them occurred in the Baltic area, particularly in Estonia, Latvia, and also Lithuania, where the organisation has an air-policing presence.

"Generally, intercepts occurred without incident as NATO planes take off to identify the approaching aircraft and escort it out of the area. Very few intercepted flights entered allied airspace," citing a statement from the 30-country US-led alliance, the Associated Press reported.

Intercepting of flights by NATO has become a usual routine. Even though the tension between NATO and Putin administration has increased over Russian military' activity near Ukraine's boundaries in recent months, the frequency of intercepts connected to Russia has fallen this year.

Last year, NATO jets had scrambled 350 instances in retaliation to Russian planes. Further, over 60 NATO jets are stationed throughout Europe all the time to react to uninvited military flights or passenger airliners losing contact with air traffic services for any reason, ranging from technical issues to hijacking.

NATO has been preparing for a large-scale armed battle with Russia: Minister Alexander Fomin

In addition to this, NATO's decades-long eastward expansion, and the deployment of western alliance missile systems, troops, boats, and planes along Russia's borders, have worried Moscow, according to Sputnik. NATO has been preparing for a large-scale armed battle with Russia, as per Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, in breach of the Rome Declaration of 2002. 

"The bloc's military construction has been completely reorientated toward preparing for a large-scale, high-intensity armed conflict with Russia," Fomin stated on Monday, December 27 at a diplomatic briefing in Moscow for 105 foreign military attaches, which included officials from 14 NATO nations, Sputnik reported. 

Furthermore, approximately 13,000 foreign troops are continuously deployed on the land of NATO's Eastern European countries, according to Fomin, with over 600 tanks as well as armoured vehicles, dozens of heavy weapons, and at least 30 aircraft and helicopters. 

(Image: AP)