A weekly infographic published by the outlet showed that Russian fighter jets had been scrambled 19 times to intercept foreign aircraft. The foreign jets had been prevented from illegally entering Russia’s airspace, the newspaper said.
Within this period of time, Russia has also spotted six unmanned aerial vehicles, which were carrying out reconnaissance missions near the Russian borders.
On 19 June, the Russian Air Force scrambled Su-30, Su-35, and MiG-31 fighters to intercept US B-52N bombers over the Sea of Okhotsk.
The United States and NATO countries often send aircraft and drones to perform reconnaissance activities along Russia's borders in the Baltic, in the Black Sea off Crimea and Krasnodar. Russian air defence forces regularly monitor, target, and track hundreds of NATO aircraft operating close to the border, and occasionally scramble fighter jets to escort foreign military aircraft away from Russian airspace.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned US and NATO drone flights and bomber drills near its borders, saying such behaviour sparks tensions. The alliance has so far ignored these objections.
