New tension between the West and Moscow, this time in the Baltic Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced today Wednesday that a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter took off to intercept a German naval cooperation aircraft approaching Russian Federation airspace over the Baltic, but without causing a “hot incident”.

“On April 12, 2023, Russian airspace control services in the Baltic detected a target approaching the (country’s) border,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a post on the Telegram platform.

A Su-27 fighter jet took off to identify the aircraft, “a P-3C Orion of the German navy,” according to the same source.

Next, “the foreign military aircraft moved away from the borders of Russia and the Russian fighter returned safely to its base,” adds the Russian Ministry of Defense, emphasizing that the German aircraft did not violate the airspace of the Russian Federation.

Such incidents between Russian and NATO aircraft have multiplied in recent yearseven before the start of the war in Ukraine.

Last March, the Russian Air Force intercepted an American drone Reaper MQ-9 which crashed into the Black Sea. The incident had caused a further escalation of tension in Washington’s relations with Moscow.

So far, there is no reaction from Berlin or NATO.