Italian fighter jets participating in the NATO air policing mission in Poland intercepted Russian aircraft that allegedly entered the Polish airspace, the country’s air force said on Wednesday.
#Scramble, another immediate take-off for the #ItalianAirForce #Eurofighters engaged in Air Policing activities in Poland to intercept 4 Russian fighters after they had entered first Polish then Swedish airspace, before being forced to return to Kaliningrad airspace pic.twitter.com/Piy7YUIE2g
— Aeronautica Militare (@ItalianAirForce) October 5, 2022
Update: #Scramble was ordered due to Russian jets that flew over international water within the Polish and Swedish Flight Information Region pic.twitter.com/EdLMj5OLa9
— Aeronautica Militare (@ItalianAirForce) October 5, 2022
“Another immediate take-off for the #ItalianAirForce #Eurofighters engaged in Air Policing activities in Poland to intercept 4 Russian fighters after they had entered first Polish then Swedish airspace, before being forced to return to Kaliningrad airspace,” the Italian air force wrote on Twitter.
They later added: Update: #Scramble was ordered due to Russian jets that flew over international water within the Polish and Swedish Flight Information Region.
Italian air force reported two similar incidents with Russian fighter jets in late September, though the Russian military said all flights of Russian aircraft were conducted in accordance with the international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters.
Earlier, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday that the possibility of deployment of US nuclear weapons in Poland under the nuclear sharing program is a topic that remains on the table,
The program allows NATO member states to store US nuclear weapons.
“There is always the potential to participate in nuclear sharing. We spoke with US leaders about whether the United States is considering such an opportunity. The topic is open,” Duda told the Polish newspaper Gazeta Polska.
Duda believes that the absence of nuclear weapons in his country is a “problem.”
“The problem is, first of all, that we do not have nuclear weapons. Nothing indicates that we, Poland, could have them at our disposal in the near future,” Duda said.
On Tuesday, the head of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said he would like to have US nuclear weapons deployed in his country. However, according to Kaczynski, no positive response was received from Washington.
Meanwhile, Russia’s key ally, China continues to flare tensions in Asia Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Wednesday that the island’s armed forces registered 33 aircraft and four ships of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) approaching the island during the day.
“33 PLA aircraft and 4 PLAN [People’s Liberation Army Navy] vessels around our surrounding region were detected today (Oct. 5, 2022) until 17:00 (GMT+8),” the ministry said on Twitter.
According to the ministry, four J-11 fighters, four J-16s, and one Y-8 electronic intelligence aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan sent an air patrol to monitor the situation, issued radio warnings, and deployed anti-aircraft missile systems, the ministry added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said that Taiwan would retaliate if the Chinese armed forces crossed the “red line.” He also noted that the entry of Chinese warplanes into the island’s airspace would be regarded as a “first strike” but did not specify what response Taiwan would take.
The situation around Taiwan escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August. China condemned Pelosi’s trip, which it is regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island.
Several countries, including France, Lithuania, the United States, Japan, and most recently Germany, have sent their delegations to the island since then, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
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