Belgian MEP Kanko: Russia’s Bombers on the North Sea Are Intimidation for the EU

The Russian Federation intimidates Europe by sending its combat aircraft to the borders of the European Union’s airspace, Belgian MEP Assita Kanko (European Conservatives and Reformists Group) posted on her Facebook page. She promised to file a corresponding urgent parliamentary inquiry from the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Security and Defence.

“It is shocking that Russia AGAIN sends bombers into the sky over the North Sea countries for fun,” she wrote, adding, “It’s a matter of our security.”

MEP Kanko believes that the European Union “should not underestimate this and, of course, should not agree to such actions” because it is a “display of disrespect.”

Earlier, two Russian TU-142 military planes approached the airspace of the Netherlands and did not adhere to the identification procedures. As a result, two Belgian F-16s were deployed over the North Sea.

According to NATO, the Alliance’s fighter jets scrambled 10 times on 29 March to shadow Russian bombers and fighters during an unusual peak of flights over the North Atlantic, North Sea, Black Sea and Baltic Sea.

As the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania informs, on 29 March – 4 April, fighter aircraft conducting the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states were scrambled seven times to identify and escort military aircraft of the Russian Federation in the international airspace over the Baltic Sea. In particular, IL-20, IL-38, IL-76, SU-27, TU-134 were intercepted.