An infographic published in the ministry-linked Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper showed that Russian jets were scrambled at one point to chase a foreign plane away. There were no trespasses.
Russian military data reveals that Russian planes were scrambled a total of 294 times during previous year to intercept and shadow foreign reconnaissance aircraft.
Previous month, Russian Defence Ministry said they had to scramble its fighter jets seven times to intercept foreign planes close to the country's borders. Twenty-two aircraft were spotted during that week, according to the ministry.