Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft roughly 30 kilometres off the coast near Ustka in international waters over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, shortly after noon. After Polish pilots issued warnings, the Il-20 turned away and headed back toward Russia.
Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the incident marked the first attempt in a long time by a Russian aircraft to approach Poland's maritime border to probe air defence systems.
The interceptions came amid heightened Baltic air activity. A duty pair of Polish jets from Malbork scrambled on Wednesday to intercept two Su-30SM2 fighters from Kaliningrad, while a pair of Swedish fighters also escorted intercepted Russian aircraft over the Baltic.