Russian Defense Ministry says closure of airspace over St. Petersburg was ‘training exercise’
Fighter jets of the Russian Federation (Photo:via kam.lt)
The Russian Defense Ministry said it closed he airspace over St. Petersburg on Feb. 28 because the military were condicting “training” of air defense forces together with the civil authorities, Kremlin-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on Feb. 28.
“The air defense duty forces worked out the issue of detection, interception and identification of the intended target of the (air space) violator, as well as interaction with emergency services and law enforcement agencies in the event of an emergency,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
The “training” involved fighter jets that made sorties to work out issues of interception and identification of the possible target of the air space violator.
On Feb. 28, the Kovyor (“Carpet” in Russian) plan was put into operation in St. Petersburg after an unidentified flying object was reported to have been detected. The airspace over the city was restricted, and the local airport, Pulkovo, was closed.
The Kovyor plan is triggered if there is an illegal crossing of the border or the detection of a UFO.
Meanwhile, there have been several reports of drones being detected, shot down or crashing and exploding in various places in Russia on Feb. 28.
In Krasdnodarsky Krai in the south, two drones were said to have attacked an oil terminal. Three UAVs were reported to have crashed in Belgorod Oblast, to the north of Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast, and another unidentified drone was reported to have crashed between Ryzan and Moscow in Moscow Oblast.
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