The defense Ministry explained the flight Il-76 across the border of Lithuania “thunderhead”
Fly across the air border of Lithuania Russian Il-76 has deviated from the route due to weather conditions, said the Ministry of defence. Earlier Vilnius in connection with the incident handed Moscow a corresponding note.
Statement of the Vilnius about the willful violation by the Russian military transport aircraft Il-76 of air space of Lithuania in the framework of the exercises “West-2017” are “politicized”, said the Ministry of defense of Russia, reports “Interfax”.
Planes, as explained in the defense Ministry, has deviated from the route because of the “storm front”, which “directly threatened the security of the” Il-76 “to their crews.”
The authorities of Russia, the Ministry added, made a “verbal request zonal center airspace control in the city of Vilnius” in order to make the deviation from the route.
After obtaining permission from the Lithuanian side, the aircraft briefly deviated from the route, and having flown around the dangerous area, immediately returned to the main route.The defense Ministry
“The claims of the Lithuanian party on the alleged willful infringement by the Russian planes of air space in the framework of the exercises “West-2017,” the office described as a “politicsonline and untrue”.
Two Il-76, according to the defense Ministry, “carried out planned flight from the airfield Taganrog in the Rostov region on the airfield “Chernyakhovsk” in Kaliningrad region. The route of flight as specified in the Ministry, “took place over neutral waters of the Baltic sea in accordance with established rules of use of airspace”.
Earlier, on 18 September, the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Lithuania said that the Russian Il-76 has violated the country’s airspace. This is, as explained in the Department, occurred on September 16.
On this day, according to Vilnius, the Russian aircraft was in the airspace of the Republic to two minutes. And flew these planes, as added in Department, “the main part of Russia in the Kaliningrad region”. In this regard, the foreign Ministry of Lithuania summoned the Ambassador of Russia to Lithuania Alexander Udaltsov. Because of the incident he was handed a note.
Lithuanian edition Delfi, in turn, noted that the airspace violations were recorded during the Russian-Belarusian exercises “West-2017”. In the message the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Lithuania, these data are not mentioned.