MOSCOW. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Two Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighters have intercepted a Boeing B-52H strategic bomber of the United States Air Force over the Baltic Sea, the Russian National Defense Control Center said.
"Russian airspace monitoring systems detected an aerial target approaching the state border of the Russian Federation over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea on August 28, 2020. Two Su-27 fighters from the Baltic Fleet's air defense unit on duty were scrambled in order to identify the aerial target and deter it from violating the state border of the Russian Federation," the center said in a statement seen by Interfax on Saturday.
The crews of the Russian fighters approached the aerial object at a safe distance and identified it as a B-52H strategic bomber of the U.S. Air Force.
"After the foreign military aircraft had turned away from the state border of the Russian Federation, the Russian fighters safely returned to their base airfield," the statement said.
The entire flight of the Russian Su-27 fighters was carried out in strict accordance with the international rules governing the use of airspace, the center said.
"No violations of the state border of the Russian Federation by the American aircraft were allowed to occur," it said.