Dutch fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a formation of Russian military aircraft near Poland.
Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military planes near Poland and escorted them out, the Netherlands’ defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday.
It said: “The then unknown aircraft approached the Polish Nato area of responsibility from Kaliningrad.
“After identification, it turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by two Su-27 Flankers.
“The Dutch F-35s escorted the formation from a distance and handed over the escort to Nato partners.”
Kaliningrad is a Russian Baltic coast enclave located between Nato and European Union members Poland and Lithuania.
The Il-20M Coot-A is Nato’s reporting name for the Russian Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft while the Su-27 Flankers are the military alliance’s reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-28 fighter aircraft.
Russia’s defence ministry has not commented.
The Netherlands’ defence ministry said that eight Dutch F-35s are stationed in Poland for February and March.
It comes as Ukraine renews appeals for its own warplanes from Western allies.
At a meeting of the Ukraine contact group at Nato headquarters on Tuesday Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov showed reporters an image of a fighter jet when asked what his country needed.
Questioned about where he hoped they might come from, Mr Reznikov said: “From the sky."
Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed to Western countries to give him “wings for peace” on trips to London, Paris and Brussels this month.
However, Nato allies have raised concerns about the training of Ukrainians to operate the advanced equipment being sought and how to keep up a steady supply of ammunition to Ukraine.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Ukraine’s Western allies to step up their military support on Monday.
Asked when he expects Russia’s so-called spring offensive to begin, Stoltenberg said that “the reality is that we have seen the start already."
“For me, this just highlights the importance of timing. It’s urgent to provide Ukraine with more weapons," he told reporters in Brussels.
