Swedish airspace violated by Russian military jet, armed forces say

A Russian military aircraft was met by Swedish fighter jets after it briefly violated Sweden’s airspace east of the Baltic island of Gotland on Friday, the Nordic country’s armed forces said on Saturday.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom called the airspace violation “unacceptable” and said officials from the Russian Embassy in Stockholm would be summoned to his ministry over the incident.

“We are in close contact with allies and partners about the events in our immediate area,” Billstrom told Reuters in emailed comments.

The Russian Embassy in Sweden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Swedish armed forces said in a statement that two Gripen jets were sent up to meet the Russian plane, an SU-24, after it failed to respond to a radio warning by Sweden’s military air traffic control.

“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.”

Friday’s incident took place as Sweden – NATO’s newest member – and several of its new allies take part in naval exercises in the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish military said similar violations by Russian aircraft last occurred in 2022 when two SU-27 and two SU-24 planes also violated its airspace near Gotland.

Sweden’s neighbour Finland said separately on Friday it suspected that four Russian military planes had violated its airspace on 10 June.

– Reuters