In May, NATO jets were scrambled four times to identify and escort Russian aircraft violating flight rules in the Baltic and it was reported that Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Su-24 bomber in international airspace over the region.

A Ukrainian F-16 supersonic fighter supplied by the West was shot down with the loss of a “hero” pilot amid a desperate operation to counter 500-plus strikes by Vladimir Putin’s forces

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT NATO has scrambled its warplanes after Russia used 500 missiles to down an F-16 fighter jet. The pilot of the Ukrainian F-16 has been hailed a "hero"