By Updater
A Russian aircraft violated Swedish airspace east of the Baltic island of Gotland on Friday and was met by two Swedish fighter jets, a spokesperson for Sweden’s armed forces has said. Gotland is located fewer than 350 kilometers’ (217 miles) from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
The Swedish armed forces said the Russian military aircraft, a SU-24, had been hailed with a warning but failed to respond after which two Swedish Gripen fighters were sent up to meet it.
“The Russian actions are not acceptable and show a lack of respect for our territorial integrity,” Swedish air force chief Jonas Wikman said. “We followed the entire chain of events and were in place to intervene.”
In March, Sweden officially became the 32nd member of Nato, in a landmark moment for the historically neutral country. Members of the military alliance agree that if one of them is attacked, the other countries should help it defend itself.
Last week, Finland’s defence ministry said an investigation had been launched after a Russian military plane was suspected of violating Finnish airspace, flying about 2.5 km (1.6 miles) inside the Nordic country’s border.