General Petr Pavel, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, has told reporters that the alliance hasn't detected any offensive acts on Russia's part near the borders of the Baltic states, reports the portal Military.com. The general even went as far as to warn against using the term "Russian aggression" in context of the situation in the Baltic, as there are currently no open hostilities going on.
"All we have [seen] in the region is increased military presence, more exercises, more flights of long-range aviation, more use of intelligence. But I wouldn't call it 'aggression,'" Military.com quotes the general as saying.
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Petr Pavel also noted that there has so far been no violation of the Baltic states' territory, "even [their] airspace." He added that most of the "so-called violations" are caused by technical malfunctions or due to unintentional human error, such as a lack of proper communication with air traffic control.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced in 2017 that the alliance will maintain its increased presence in the Baltic states as long as the alleged Russian threat persists. NATO fighters intercepted Russian Su-30 fighters in November and December 2017 in international airspace over the Baltic, as they were flying with their transponders switched off.
