Max the Mad Russian
Hands off Ukraine! Feet too
Just to get one opposition leader, 26-years old Roman Protasevich. Flight from Athens to Vilnius (both EU members) while transiting over Belarus (from yesterday on rather Iran-like status) has been intercepted by Belarussian MiG-29 just two minutes before that 737-800 would enter Lithuanian airspace and force-landed in Minsk airport due to the fake message that there's a bomb aboard. Ther real "bomb aboard" was this young journalist who had actively opposed Lukashenko last year from Poland protesting unfair Belarussian presidental election. And he was immediately grabbed to jail. Very tough special operation neglecting all international rules, practices and affairs.
Net result: since EU yesterday had decided that was "state terrorism" case, Belarus is isolated by air: no flights even to/from Ukraine. Just Russia, China, Turkey and Egypt may land the Belarussian airplanes. Two latters due to touristic needs, two formers for politics.
The questions are: since interception took place just 25 miles from border, how close that MiG might be to violating the European airspace by itself and how good is NATO air-policing practice over Baltic states: say, had that RyanAir Captain has more heavy balls and rejected the claims from the Fulcrum, stubbornly keeping 900 km/h knowing that he would be free in minute and a half at worst, would he been there on his own? What would have occur if that Fulcrum's emission warning got red from Italian F-35A radar, since four Italian Lightning IIs are now over there on this watch? Is that enough to have just two pairs for entire airspace security?
Net result: since EU yesterday had decided that was "state terrorism" case, Belarus is isolated by air: no flights even to/from Ukraine. Just Russia, China, Turkey and Egypt may land the Belarussian airplanes. Two latters due to touristic needs, two formers for politics.
The questions are: since interception took place just 25 miles from border, how close that MiG might be to violating the European airspace by itself and how good is NATO air-policing practice over Baltic states: say, had that RyanAir Captain has more heavy balls and rejected the claims from the Fulcrum, stubbornly keeping 900 km/h knowing that he would be free in minute and a half at worst, would he been there on his own? What would have occur if that Fulcrum's emission warning got red from Italian F-35A radar, since four Italian Lightning IIs are now over there on this watch? Is that enough to have just two pairs for entire airspace security?
