[Epoch Times] A Russian fighter jet was scrambled on Monday to intercept a pair of U.S. strategic bombers flying over the Baltic Sea, Russia’s defense ministry said."On March 20, 2023, radars of the Western Military District Air Defense force on duty detected two airborne targets over the Baltic Sea, flying towards the state border of the Russian Federation," the ministry said, as per Russian state media TASS. "The targets were identified as two U.S. Air Force B-52H strategic bombers."
A single Su-35 fighter jet took to the air to "prevent violations of the state border" by the American warplanes that allegedly reached a "designated air patrol area," but returned to its home base after the targets moved away from Russian territory, according to the ministry.
In a statement released Tuesday, the U.S. Air Force in Europe said that the bombers were conducting a mission with NATO allies and partners in Estonian airspace as a part of their "normally scheduled training operations."
"The flights remained within Estonian airspace the entire flight at an approx. distance of 50NM from Russian air space," the statement reads. "At no point did B-52’s make contact with Russian aircraft."