MOSCOW – It was by all accounts an accident: The Russian pilot said he lost his way and strayed over neighboring Lithuania, ran low on fuel, pointed his SU-27 fighter jet toward an empty field and ejected.
Except hardly anyone in Lithuania is buying that.
The holes in Maj. Valery Troyanov’s story are big enough to fly a squadron of bickering diplomats through. For one thing, the frontline combat plane wasn’t unarmed, as Russian officials initially claimed, but was equipped with four air-to-air missiles and a loaded 30mm cannon.
Then too: Why had it strayed 120 miles off course into Lithuanian territory Sept. 15, why did it turn off its signaling equipment, and why did it fly under the radar?
The Russians watched in misery for the past two weeks as their pilot and plane have been examined in the former Soviet republic, now a NATO member. This week, they ventured a question of their own: Why did it take the alliance’s air defenses so long to detect the intruder?
“Air defense forces and assets in Lithuania simply turned out to be good for nothing. The vaunted NATO German pilots were on duty that day. Were they drinking beer, I wonder?” Russian air force commander Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov asked.
In a contretemps reminiscent of the Cold War, Russia and Lithuania have been trading barbs since the jet crossed the border and landed near the village of Ploksciai, about 90 miles northwest of Vilnius, though the Russians have apologized and officials on both sides have pledged to cooperate.
Prosecutors renewed their interrogation of the pilot Wednesday after a review of the plane’s flight recorders revealed that the airman had made “many mistakes” in programming his navigation equipment, Lithuanian Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said.
NATO, which took responsibility for patrolling the skies over Lithuania and neighboring Estonia and Latvia when they joined the defense organization in 2004, has come in for its own share of heat among Lithuanians. They also are wondering why it took the patrol planes so long to respond.
“Some people have said why do we have NATO if a Russian fighter has been for 20 minutes in Lithuanian airspace, and NATO is late?” said Arturas Racas, an analyst with the Baltic News Service.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
