Spanish jets were scrambled during a news conference in Lithuania after Russian fighter jets were detected.
Image Credit: Twitter account El Pais
On Thursday during a news conference in a NATO Air base in Lithuania, Russian milutary aircraft was detected halting the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez and President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda remarks. The two Spanish fighter jets that were there to protect the Spanish Prime Minister during his flight, were quickly dispatched.
The moment that the Russian plane was detected, the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda was giving his remarks when all of a sudden he was stopped, and a pilot was seen entering the fighter jet and the reports were asked to move away.
A NATO official that spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the two Spanish fighters jets were scrambled to ‘identify two aircraft flying into the Baltic Sea area.’ The two Russian fighter jets were identified as Su-24 bombers.
Those two Russian jets did not file a flight plan, did not have their flight transponder on, or talk to traffic controllers.
NATO official that spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Russian Defence Ministry denied that they violated Lithuania’s borders and said that it was a regular mission in neutral waters.
The flight was performed in strict accordance with international rules of using airspace and without violation of any country’s borders.
Russian Defense Ministry.
When the news conference resumed the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez immediately said that was just happened was an example of why the Spanish Air Force has troops and seven Eurofighters in the country.
We have seen a real case of what usually happens that precisely justifies the presence of Spanish troops with the seven Eurofighters in Lithuania.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on his last day of his three-day trip where he earlier met officials from Estonia and Latvia.
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