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Poland’s armed forces said Wednesday that two of its fighter jets had intercepted and escorted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea one day prior.

The Polish operational command said the Russian Il-20 surveillance aircraft was flying in international airspace without filing a flight plan and with its transponder turned off, making it invisible to civilian radar.

“The aircraft did not violate Polish airspace,” the command said in a statement on social media.

It added that two Polish MiG-29 fighter jets visually identified and escorted the Russian aircraft out of the area.

Operational command spokesman Jacek Goryszewski told Polish media, “Our pilots could have taken further actions if the Russian pilots took steps that we wouldn’t want, like violating our airspace or performing other dangerous maneuvers.”

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The interception comes amid rising alert levels across NATO’s eastern flank, where several member states have reported increased Russian air activity near their borders.

In September, three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for about 12 minutes and Poland reported more than 20 Russian drones crossing into its territory. The Kremlin denied the border incursions.

Poland is a staunch ally of Ukraine and has been a key transit point for Western arms heading to the embattled country since Russia invaded it in 2022.

The pair allegedly gathered intelligence on Polish military personnel and infrastructure, including transport hubs used to supply Ukraine with foreign military aid.

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The South China Sea has long been a source of tension, with several nations laying overlapping claims to its islands, reefs and surrounding waters. The sea is one of the world's busiest trade routes and is believed to hold vast reserves of oil, gas and other natural resources.

China claims almost the entire waterway under its "nine-dash line", asserting historical rights that extend deep into areas also claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled that China's claims had no legal basis under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a decision Beijing rejected.

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