Europe

NATO AWACS aircraft flies off to Ukraine skies

NATO AWACS aircraft flies off to Ukraine skies

An Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft deployed by NATO to an airbase in Germany has flown off from the outpost to monitor skies above Ukraine and Romania.

The plane took off from the NATO base in Geilenkirchen in eastern Germany on Friday.

The AWACS started daily sorties over Romania and Poland on March 14 to monitor the situation in Ukraine.

The Western military alliance gave the go-ahead for the reconnaissance flights on March 10 following a recommendation from US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, who is NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

The NATO commander said the flights, to be mounted from bases in Germany and the UK, “will enhance the alliance’s situational awareness.”

The Ukraine crisis began last November after the country’s then-President Viktor Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.

The refusal triggered months of unrest and clashes with the police.

Tensions between the Western powers and Moscow heightened after Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which nearly 97 percent of voters in Crimea said yes to reunion with Russia.

NATO has accused Russia of violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

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