A NATO F-18 Hornet multi-purpose fighter approached Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's plane while flying in neutral waters in the Baltic Sea, but was chased away by one of the two Su-27 fighter jets, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The plane carrying Shoigu is believed to be flying from Russia's Kaliningrad suburbs to Moscow.
footage taken from inside the Russian Defense Minister's plane shows the Spanish Air Force's F-18 flying in parallel with the Russian Defense Minister's plane before changing course approached by the Su-27.
Defense Minister Shoigu visited Kaliningrad - a Russian territory surrounded by Poland and Lithuania - NATO members - to watch an exercise at sea.
Later in the day, NATO confirmed that an alliance fighter jet had take off to intercept Russian aircraft in the Baltic Sea. NATO said the search was conducted to identify the plane and did not know who was on board.
The NATO plane returned to base after completing the mission to identify the plane, according to the alliance's press department.
This is not the first time NATO aircraft have approached the aircraft of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Baltic Sea. A similar incident occurred in June 2017 and a NATO F-16 was chased away by a Su-27 carrying the Russian defense minister.
