Major tensions remain in the Baltic Sea. A Russian Su-24 aircraft violated Swedish airspace near the strategic island of Gotland on Friday and left only after the country scrambled two fighter jets, the Swedish military said.
The incident occurred three months after the Scandinavian country became a NATO member, following two centuries of neutrality and then military non-alignment. “On Friday afternoon, a Su-24 combat aircraft violated Swedish airspace east of the southern tip of the island of Gotland. The Swedish Air Combat Command warned the Russian aircraft with a verbal call,” the country’s armed forces said in a statement.
Strategic importance of Gotland
“As the warning was not heeded and the aircraft did not deviate from its route, it was cleared from Swedish airspace by two JAS-39 Gripen fighters,” the text said, adding that the violation was “short-term.” .
The island of Gotland is located less than 350 km from the heavily militarized Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. According to Swedish military doctrine, whoever controls this island is able to largely control the movement of aviation and navy in the Baltic Sea.
Sweden reopened its garrison on Gotland in 2018 after years of military spending cuts that led to its closure in 2004. Russia’s last violation of Swedish airspace occurred in March 2022, when Swedish fighter jets intercepted two Su-24s and two Su-27s over Gotland.
Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 prompted Sweden to once again strengthen its military, and Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine subsequently led to Sweden’s historic decision to join NATO.
Source: Le Parisien
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