Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine
13 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Russian National Defense Control Center has intercepted this Thursday a Norwegian Air Force patrol plane over the waters of the Barents Sea, and has escorted it in the opposite direction to the Russian border.
In order to “identify the air target and prevent violation of the state border of the Russian Federation”, the Russian military authorities have taken off a MiG-31 model fighter plane from the Northern fleet.
“The crew of the Russian fighter identified the air target as a P-8A Poseidon base patrol aircraft of the Norwegian Air Force,” the Russian National Defense Control Center said in a statement collected by the TASS news agency.
The Russian authorities have insisted that “the violation of the Russian state border” is not allowed, and has defended that the interception and escort operation of the Norwegian plane has been carried out in accordance with international regulations.
This incident occurs on the same day that Norway has declared fifteen diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Oslo ‘persona non grata’; and less than 24 hours after a similar event with a German plane over Baltic waters.
