Polish Jets Intercept Russian Plane Over Baltic Sea

Polish fighters intercepted a Russian plane on Oct. 28 that was flying a reconnaissance mission in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Polish army said on Oct. 29. The Russian plane was flying without a filed flight plan, and its transponder was turned off.

“On October 28, 2025, a pair of on-duty MiG-29 Polish Air Force fighters successfully intercepted, visually identified, and escorted a Russian Federation aircraft out of the area of responsibility, which was conducting a flight over the Baltic Sea,” Poland’s Operational Command of the Armed Forces posted on X.

“Polish fighters intercepted an Il-20 Russian aircraft carrying out a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off. The aircraft did not violate Polish airspace.”

Lt. Col. Jacek Goryszewski, spokesman for the Operational Command, told Polish outlet TVN24 that the jets were in the air “within minutes” of being alerted to the presence of Moscow’s fighter.

He said that during the operation, the Polish planes simply escorted the errant aircraft away, but he added, “Further actions could be taken by our pilots if Russian pilots were to take steps that we would not want, i.e., attempt to violate our airspace or perform other dangerous maneuvers.”

Although Moscow has not commented on this particular incident, it has in the past maintained that all flights by its military aircraft over neutral waters are conducted strictly in line with international regulations and do not pose any threat to foreign air traffic.

The incident comes as NATO’s eastern member states remain on high alert to incursions by Russian aircraft following a series of airspace violations in the region by Moscow.

A trio of armed Russian MiG fighters entered Estonia’s airspace for more than 10 minutes on Sept. 19, in what the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s top political body, condemned as a “dangerous violation.”

The incursion into Estonian airspace came just days after more than a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace. Warsaw’s defenses shot several of them down.

On Oct. 23, in Lithuania, two Russian military aircraft, an Su-30 fighter and an Il-78 refueling tanker, spent roughly 18 seconds in the NATO nation’s airspace.

Vilnius’s military said the two aircraft were potentially on a refueling training mission when they flew more than 2,000 feet into Lithuanian airspace from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

On Sept. 12, NATO launched a major air operation, dubbed “Eastern Sentry,” with the stated aim of defending its eastern flank.

As part of the operation, Danish, French, German, and British jets are now flying sorties across the region.

Last week, Alexus Grynkewich, a U.S. Air Force general serving as NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, said that Moscow appeared to have been deterred by the response but that Moscow is expected to continue testing boundaries.

“We do see indications that the Russians are trying to be more careful, that they recognize that they came close to or crossed a line in a couple of cases, particularly when you consider the drone event in Poland,” he said.

“We’ll have a deterrent effect, but they’re going to continue to try to move and take hybrid approaches to how they challenge the alliance.”

The European Commission has also proposed four flagship defense projects, including a drone wall and fortification of Europe’s eastern border, as part of measures to boost the bloc’s defense by 2030.

The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, stated that these projects will “reinforce Europe’s ability to deter and defend across land, air, sea, cyber, and space while contributing directly to NATO capability targets.”

Reuters contributed to this report.