The Royal Navy also shadowed Russian military vessels passing through the English Channel this week, officials said.

Summary

The United Kingdom scrambled two Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets to intercept a Russian Tu-142 reconnaissance aircraft near British airspace over the North Sea on Thursday.

These incidents are not isolated occurrences. Recently, Italy and Norway intercepted Russian planes near the Baltic Sea and Norwegian coast, while Japan and the United States responded to Russian aircraft near their respective airspaces in previous months.

These actions reflect the heightened tensions that have emerged amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.