Dramatic moment NATO Top Guns intercept Russian warplanes over Baltic Sea… then take off for MORE Putin planes north of Poland as Vladimir tests West’s defenses

This is the dramatic moment NATO Top Guns intercept Russian warplanes over the Baltic Sea before taking off from another Putin plane north of Poland.

It came as the Russian president issued a direct threat to bomb the West with nuclear weapons, while accusing NATO and the US of “preparing to attack Russia” in his annual address to the country.

NATO said two French Mirage 2000-5s intercepted a Russian SU-30-M aircraft over the Baltic Sea yesterday.

It also noted that the French fighters were immediately afterwards transferred to a new mission, where they intercepted a Russian AN-72 flying in international airspace north of Poland.

On February 12, Russia claimed that NATO had deployed warplanes to confront a pair of nuclear-capable missile carriers patrolling the Norwegian Sea.

The jets follow the Russian plane. In his annual speech yesterday, Putin made a direct threat to bomb the West with nuclear weapons, while accusing NATO and the US of “preparing to attack Russia.”

The Kremlin taunted the bloc again by launching two TU-95MS aircraft to patrol the Norwegian Sea, which were escorted by a group of Su35S aircraft.

‘Fighters from abroad’ also accompanied the unit during the five-hour flight, although Moscow did not specify which Western air forces were deployed.

A Defense source told MailOnline that the RAF had not launched any aircraft in response to the flyover.

The Norwegian Sea borders Great Britain to the south – Shetland to the north, Norway to the east and Iceland to the west.

“The flight was carried out in strict accordance with international rules on the use of airspace,” said Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, commander of Russia’s Long-Range Aviation.

‘Long-range pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific, Black and Baltic Seas.’

Days after French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the West has not “ruled out” putting boots on the ground in Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, Putin said yesterday in his annual speech: “They, NATO and America, are actively in other parts of the world. the world of course, and they continue to lie and cheat there.

“They are preparing to attack our territory using the best possible forces, the most effective forces.

NATO said French fighters were redeployed to a new mission immediately after the first incident, intercepting a Russian AN-72 flying in international airspace north of Poland. Pictured: A French jet beneath a Russian AN-72 in an image released by NATO

“But we remember the fate of those who try to invade our territory, and of course their fate will be far more tragic than anything we may encounter.”

Putin repeatedly praised Russia’s vastly modernized nuclear arsenal in his speech, adding as a warning to the West: “They must understand that we also have weapons, weapons that can defeat them on their own territory.”

‘All this is of course very dangerous, because it could actually lead to the use of nuclear weapons. Don’t they understand that?’

The Russian despot also chillingly assured that “strategic nuclear weapons are in a state of full readiness for guaranteed use,” but warned that the use of nuclear weapons would be tantamount to the “destruction of civilization.”

He told NATO countries that their threats have created a “real” risk of nuclear war if they send troops to Ukraine, adding that Russia must strengthen its Western Military District after the admission of Finland and Sweden to the Atlantic alliance, as Finland has a long land border with northwest Russia.

Putin said: “They must ultimately realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory.

“Everything the West comes up with creates the real threat of conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and with it the destruction of civilization.”