The Ministry of National Defence stated that on 15 December NATO fighter jets were scrambled and identified one Russian military aircraft IL-20, which was flying in international airspace from Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation and back. Its onboard transponder was switched off, the crew had no pre-filed flight plan and was not maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre.
One TU-154 was also identified. It was flying in international airspace from Kaliningrad region to the mainland of the Russian Federation. The aircraft was flying with its onboard transponder turned on, with a pre-filed flight plan and maintained radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre.
On 19 December, NATO fighter jets identified one IL-20, which was flying in international airspace from Kaliningrad region to the mainland of the Russian Federation. It had its onboard transponder turned off, did not have a pre-filed flight plan, but maintained radio communication.