Photo: US Navy / Getty Images
Russian bomber planes, apparently armed with nuclear warheads, entered the airspace of the European Union before being intercepted by fighter jets.
Swedish media reports that four of Vladimir Putin’s warplanes were pounced on the Baltic towards the island of Gotland.
TV4, Expressen and Aftonbladet report that the formation was two Sukhoi Su-bombers 24 and two Sukhoi Su-27.
The bombers with the individual stabilizer tails were allegedly armed with nuclear weapons.
The Stockholm military has yet to confirm the incident, despite widespread reports in Sweden.
The incident represents a chilling escalation as tensions continue between the West and Russia over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sources told TV4 that the move is believed to have been a deliberate attempt to intimidate Sweden.
Swedish JAS aircraft were sent 39 Gripen to intercept the aplanes, and they were in their space aircraft for about a minute.
Stockholm confirmed the intercept earlier this month, but reports about the nuclear-armed planes only now emerged .
The Su-24 are two-seater supersonic attack aircraft that have been in service since before the fall of the Soviet Union.
The aircraft has been used during the current war by both Russia and Ukraine.
It is understood that Russia has at least 500 weapons nuclear weapons designated for use by their bombers, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
The Swedish Armed Forces declined to comment when TV4 reached out. in contact regarding nuclear weapons.
At the time of the raid, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said: “The Russian violation of Swedish airspace is , of course, completely unacceptable.
“It will lead to a strong diplomatic response from Sweden. Swedish sovereignty and territory must always be respected.”
The military said they were taking the incident “very seriously” and called the raid of “unprofessional and irresponsible”.
Air Force chief Carl-Johan Edström added: “This is an unprofessional and irresponsible action by Russia.”
Neither of the two countries is a member of NATO.
The incursion into the airspace is also came just after Sweden pledged to send military aid, including 5,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.
It was the first time since 1939 that Sweden sent arms to a country at war.
Jörgen Elfving, a former lieutenant colonel, told Aftonbladet that the incident raised questions about whether Sweden should join NATO.
He said: “If you now have a weapons system that can deliver nuclear weapons and it does, it’s not an everyday event.
“The handling of nuclear weapons is not done by just anyone, it is not a routine fact”.
The former officer said that an incident of this type has not occurred since the Cold War.
It has been previously reported that Russian bombers were carrying nuclear weapons while conducting exercises near Western nations. In 2015 it was reported that on at least two occasions Putin’s planes had been carrying nuclear weapons near the UK.
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