Moscow/Washington: Russia, which signalled readiness over the possibility of a new Cold War with the United States, has hinted at initiating training for it. On Monday, Russian bombers, fighter jets and patrol aircraft demonstrated their capabilities by making aggressive moves in the stretch of airspace from Alaska in the Arctic to the Black Sea. It is said to be the first time nine Russian planes have conducted such flybys in a single day. The United States European Command (EUCOM) has raised its alert status to the highest level following the incident.
Since taking over the presidency in January, Joe Biden has taken a very aggressive stance against Russia. The Biden administration is consistently targeting Russia over issues such as Ukraine, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the Alexei Navalny case and cyberattacks. In an interview last month, President Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a ‘killer’ and warned that he would have to pay the price for it. Also, the US Secretary of State had targeted Russia in a recent NATO meeting.
In the wake of the events, Russia’s efforts to reassert its capabilities from the Arctic to the Black Sea are striking. In the last few years, there has been a steady increase in the presence of Russian planes, warships and submarines close to European countries. This was evident considering the sanctions the United States and EU had imposed after the annexation of the Ukrainian province of Crimea and the military activity launched at the same time. Russia has justified its actions despite repeated warnings from the United States and NATO.
On Monday, Russia sent four bombers, one after the other, near the Norwegian border in the North Sea. Initially, two Tu-95 Bear bombers were found near the southern part of the North Sea. Norway sent its F-16 fighter jets to monitor the movement of the bombers. Upon learning of the incident, the UK also sent its Typhoon fighter jet to Norway. Also, NATO informed that Belgium had scrambled its fighter jets to track the Russian bomber movements.
Shortly after the incident, two Russian Tu-160 bombers were seen on the international waters near Norway. Norway sent its F-16s again to stop them. At the same time, Italian fighter jets intercepted Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft in the Baltic Sea. NATO radars also tracked the movements of three Russian military aircraft in the Black Sea waters. NATO stated that Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish fighter jets were sent to monitor the planes.
The movements of Russian aircraft were recorded near the Alaskan border while NATO radars were tracking them during their flight over the North Sea to the Black Sea region, according to the US North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
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