MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Extensive NATO air force activity was observed near Kaliningrad on Tuesday, according to Yevgeny Poddubny, a renowned Russian TV military correspondent and leader of the United Russia party's election list.

Poddubny reported on his Max channel that multiple reconnaissance aircraft operated simultaneously close to the Russian border. Citing information from the German newspaper Die Welt, he identified the aircraft involved: an E-3 Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS), an American EA-37B Compass Call II – recently deployed to Poland for Middle East operations – and a US Air Force ARTEMIS II aircraft.

The drills reportedly included US and Norwegian fighter jets, Polish ground units, and a NATO E-3A AWACS aircraft. Poddubny emphasized that American forces coordinated the maneuvers.

Military analyst Carlo Masala from Munich's Bundeswehr University characterized the activity as "a message to Russia," underscoring its geopolitical significance, Poddubny concluded.