RIGA, July 25 (RIA Novosti) – A light aircraft, which briefly violated the airspace of Russia and then Lithuania earlier in the week, was forced down to land by NATO fighter jets in Latvia, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said.
Two Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets were scrambled after a Cessna aircraft flying over Polish territory toward Gdansk Bay about 50 kilometers away from the Russian border was detected on Monday night. After a visual contact with Russia’s Su-27 fighter, the trespasser turned around and flew toward Lithuania.
“A private two-seater aircraft flying from the direction of Kaliningrad entered the airspace of Lithuania over the sea,” the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said adding that the plane was registered in Italy and was en route from Poland to Norway.
The ministry added that the aircraft did not have a permission to enter the Lithuanian territory and was forced to land at Latvia’s Ventspils airport by NATO fighter jets, which were patrolling the airspace of the Baltic States.
