A russian military aircraft flew over the German Navy frigate Hamburg twice, which is taking part in NATO's Neptun Strike exercises in the Baltic Sea.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced this in the Bundestag, Tagesspiegel reports.
According to him, the incident occurred between September 22 and 26, during maneuvers. Pistorius stressed that russia is increasingly testing the reaction of the Alliance countries by violating the airspace of Poland and Estonia and carrying out similar provocative actions.
"Putin wants to provoke us, to identify and exploit possible weaknesses in NATO. But he is mistaken: the Alliance is reacting clearly and decisively, while maintaining the necessary restraint," the minister said.
The German government is simultaneously discussing an increase in the defense budget: in 2025, more than EUR 82 billion is planned for the regular military fund and about EUR 25 billion more from the special fund of the Bundeswehr.
Recall, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that the North Atlantic Alliance will defend "every inch of its territory", but will not shoot down russian planes if they do not attack NATO members.
On September 22, Donald Tusk said that Poland would not hesitate to shoot down air targets that violate its airspace and pose a threat, but would apply a more cautious approach to situations that are "less unambiguous."
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