Italian Air Force scrambles to intercept four Russian fighter jets in Swedish airspace

The Russian jets were forced to return to Kaliningrad as soon as they were intercepted by the Italian jets.

By Alessandra Scotto di Santolo

14:05, Wed, Oct 5, 2022 | UPDATED: 15:25, Wed, Oct 5, 2022

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The Italian Air Force said it was called for an immediate take off to police the Polish and Swedish airspace after intercepting Russian jets in the area. Announcing the move, they tweeted: “Another immediate take-off for the #ItalianAirForce #Eurofighters engaged in Air Policing activities in Poland to intercept 4 Russian fighters after they had entered first Polish then Swedish airspace, before being forced to return to Kaliningrad airspace.”

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It comes as President Vladimir Putin formally incorporated four Ukrainian regions into Russia on Wednesday even as his forces retreated within them, while Moscow stepped up its energy war with Europe by further cutting gas supplies.

Pushing ahead with Europe’s biggest annexation since World War Two, Putin signed off on a law annexing the new territory, which represents up to 18 percent of Ukraine, some of which Moscow’s forces do not control.

If Crimea is added, which Russia annexed in 2014, Moscow is laying claim to 22 percent of Ukraine, though it has yet to spell out where all of the borders will be located and its own troops have been forced to retreat on two fronts.

The Russian leader’s signature was the final stage in the legal process to annex Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.

Italian Air Force jets intercepted Russian planes in Polish and Swedish airspace (Image: ITALIAN AIR FORCE)

Italian air force announced the news on Twitter (Image: AERONAUTICA MILITARE)

‘NATO would have to respond’: WW3 fears ramp up over worries of ‘Russian attack’ on Poland

The likelihood of Putin launching a strike against a NATO ally rises by the day, as the Russian leader has few options left to win the war, a US Senator warned.

The West’s continuous supply of NATO weapons to Ukraine could then plunge the military alliance into a direct conflict with the Russian Federation.

Kyiv says it will never accept an illegal imperial-style land grab and has recaptured hundreds of thousands of square miles of its own territory in recent weeks.

Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said on Telegram that what Russia was doing reminded him of a “collective madhouse”.

• “Worthless decisions by a terrorist country are not worth the paper they are signed on,” he said.

The West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia and European Union ambassadors on Wednesday agreed a new package to punish it for the annexation plan, the Czech EU presidency said.