Swedes intercept Russian bombers over the Baltic

Swedish fighter jets intercepted four Russian military aircraft with transponders switched off in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Swedish military said, reports the Patria news agency. 

Relations between the West and Russia are tense as a result of Moscow's role in the conflict in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea, and this is further fueled by increased Russian military activities in the Baltic.

Sweden, which is not a NATO member, said it intercepted two Russian bombers flying in the company of two Flanker-type fighters.

"The level of threat to Sweden has not increased, but the Swedish armed forces are monitoring... increased activity in our neighborhood," the military statement said.

Russia has increased the number of flights near Europe's borders in recent years, forcing aircraft from NATO member states and their allies such as Sweden to intercept them hundreds of times.