Russia claims preventing Norwegian patrol plane from violating its airspace over Barents Sea

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia claimed on Wednesday that its air force prevented a Norwegian Air Force patrol plane from violating the country's airspace over the Barents Sea.

According to a statement from Russia's Defense Ministry, a MiG-31 fighter jet was dispatched to intercept the foreign aircraft over the Barents Sea – located on the northern Norwegian coastline within Russian and Norwegian territorial waters.

"On July 10, 2024, Russian airspace controls over the Barents Sea area detected an air target approaching the state border of the Russian Federation, which was identified as a P-8A Poseidon base patrol aircraft of the Norwegian Air Force. In order to prevent violations of the state border of the Russian Federation, a MiG-31 fighter jet from the air defense forces on duty was scrambled," it said.

The MiG-31 approached the Norwegian aircraft, forcing it to make a U-turn from Russian airspace, the ministry said, emphasizing that the Russian pilots acted strictly according to international law.