NATO reconnaissance aircraft regularly appear near Russia’s borders as part of preparations for provocations against the country, Sergey Lipovoy, chairman of the presidium of the Officers of Russia organization and a Hero of Russia, told TASS.

According to Lipovoy, alliance intelligence aircraft patrol Russia’s borders almost continuously. He argued that the intensity of such missions increases when Ukraine, acting under NATO guidance, is preparing new provocations against Russia.

He also claimed that the flights are used to support Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian civilian targets. In his account, reconnaissance aircraft collect up-to-date information on the location of targets, after which the data is used to guide UAVs.

Lipovoy views the appearance of NATO intelligence aircraft near Russia as a sign that the alliance is preparing new «terrorist acts» against the country.

Last week, the NATO-owned Bombardier ARTEMIS II reconnaissance aircraft was spotted several times near the Kaliningrad Region. It flew around the Russian exclave through Polish and Lithuanian airspace and over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea.

Other NATO aircraft were also observed near the Kaliningrad Region during separate periods. These included a Boeing E-3A Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft and a US Gulfstream EA-37B Compass Call II electronic warfare aircraft.

The Bombardier ARTEMIS II was also detected over neutral waters in the southern part of the Black Sea.