BS BULLETIN:

• Finnish and Swedish fighter jets scrambled together for the first time to intercept a formation of Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland.
• The Russian formation included supersonic MiG-31 interceptors, Su-30 fighters and a Tu-134 transport aircraft.
• A day later, Vladimir Putin mocked European warnings about a possible Russian threat as “political clowning.”

Vladimir Putin says European leaders worried about a Russian attack are engaging in “political clowning.”

The timing of that remark was interesting.

Just one day earlier, Finnish and Swedish fighter jets had scrambled together for the first time to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland.

Finnish F/A-18 Hornets and Swedish JAS 39 Gripens responded after the Russian formation was detected in international airspace on Sept. 24, according to the Swedish Armed Forces.

And these weren’t exactly sightseeing planes.

The Russian formation included a Tu-134 transport aircraft, MiG-31 supersonic interceptors and Su-30 multirole fighters.

“This is what close cooperation looks like in practice,” Swedish Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman said afterward.

The joint scramble represents a milestone for two countries whose relationship with NATO has changed dramatically since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Finland joined NATO in 2023, followed by Sweden in 2024.

Now their air forces are demonstrating that they can respond together when Russian military aircraft show up in the neighborhood.

The encounter also comes amid a broader series of incidents along NATO’s eastern flank.

Russian drones have entered Polish airspace, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter recently crossed from Kaliningrad into Poland, and armed Russian aircraft entered Estonian airspace before being intercepted by NATO fighters earlier this month.

NATO jets also shot down a drone in Lithuanian airspace this month, while Denmark accused a Russian warship of firing flares toward a Danish military helicopter conducting surveillance over the Baltic Sea.

Putin, however, says Europeans worried about where all this might be heading are being ridiculous.

Speaking Friday in St. Petersburg, the Russian president insisted Moscow has no intention of attacking Europe.

“We are not preparing for military action against Europe,” Putin said. “We have no such plans, no basis for them, and, most importantly, no real motive to escalate the situation with Europe.”

Then he took a shot at warnings from Estonia about preparing for a potential Russian attack.

“As we jokingly say in Russia: ‘The circus has left, but the clowns remain,’” Putin said.

“It is political clowning.”

Putin called the warnings “complete nonsense and absurdity.”

Not everyone in the region is laughing.

Czech President Petr Pavel, a retired general and former chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, warned last week that Russia appears to be deliberately testing how NATO will respond.

“There might be the time when we will have to shoot down some of these planes or unmanned vehicles that are testing our readiness,” Pavel said.

His concern is that repeatedly declining to respond forcefully could convince Moscow that NATO lacks the will to do so.

“They are, on one hand, provoking. On the other, testing what will our reaction be,” Pavel said.

Denmark’s military intelligence service has meanwhile assessed the risk of a limited Russian military attack against a NATO country as “low but growing,” while saying a full-scale invasion remains highly unlikely.

So Putin may consider Europe’s concern about Russia a circus.

But Finland and Sweden apparently aren’t waiting around to see who gets the last laugh.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

• Fox News — Supersonic Russian jets trigger joint scramble by NATO allies amid Putin ‘clowns’ jab
• Fox News — Czech president warns NATO may have to shoot down Russian aircraft testing its boundaries
• Associated Press — NATO jets shoot down drone over Lithuania as Russian ship fires flares at Danish helicopter