The Operational Command wrote on the X social media platform that on May 6 "a pair of MiG-29s on duty at the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork conducted an interception and visual identification of a Russian Federation aircraft".

The jets that intercepted the Ilyushin Il-20, which took off from an airfield in Kaliningrad Oblast and flown into international airspace over the Baltic Sea, "carrying out a reconaissance mission, without violation of Polish territorial waters".

Intercepted once before

The Operational Command added that the very same aircraft had been also intercepted on May 3 by a pair of F-16s scrambled from the Tactical Air Base in Krzesiny.

"Safeguarding Polish airspace is a foundation of our country's security. Thanks to the swift conduct of the ground staff and aircraft crews we may rest assured we are protected against air threats," the command added.