A NATO member country was forced to scramble fighter jets once again this week after a Russian reconnaissance aircraft was spotted over the Baltic Sea. Poland scrambled F-16 fighter jets in response to a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft operating near Western defence positions.

The Putin plane was flying in international waters “without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off”. It is the second time this week that a Russian spy plane has been conducting flights over the Baltic Sea. The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command said in a statment: “This type of provocative action by the Russian Federation does not go unanswered – we are vigilant, we respond, and we remain in constant readiness to protect Polish airspace.”

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister, said the “provocative actions of the Russian Federation are testing our air defense systems”.

He added that “thanks to the constant combat readiness of pilots, soldiers, and ground crew, Polish skies remain safe”.

“Wojsko Polskie is ready every day for an immediate response and protection of airspace”, he said.

Poland shares a 130-mile frontier with Russian region Kaliningrad. The Suwałki Gap, a 60-mile-wide corridor between Poland and Lithuania, has been described as NATO’s “weakest link”—a strip of territory wedged between Russia and its ally Belarus.

Mr Healey told the Russian President “we see you” as he confirmed the UK and allies tracked a Russian attack submarine and two spy submarines in the North Atlantic for a month before they retreated.

Addressing the Russian leader during a press conference held on April 9, he said: “We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”

Healey told a Downing Street press conference on Thursday that Russia had deployed an Akula-class submarine as a diversionary tactic, while two GUGI spy submarines conducted surveillance on the cables.

He added that the attack submarine quickly left UK waters and returned to Russia after being tracked, while the two GUGI vessels remained in the area.