South Korean Fighter Jets Scrambled as Russian Aircraft Approach

South Korea was placed on alert after a number of Russian military aircraft were detected entering its air defence identification zone. South Korean authorities immediately scrambled fighter jets.

This is the second similar incident in recent weeks. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since South Korea joined in supporting Western sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and since Moscow built closer ties with North Korea.

South Korea’s Ministry of Defence said several Russian aircraft had entered and then left its air defence identification zone over the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

“The South Korean military detected the Russian aircraft before they entered the zone and deployed Air Force fighter jets to prepare for any eventuality,” the ministry said, without providing details, as reported by AFP news agency on Wednesday (26/8/2026).

The Russian aircraft did not violate South Korean airspace, it said.

An air defence identification zone is not sovereign airspace but a buffer area in which countries require foreign aircraft to identify themselves for security purposes.

Military aircraft are generally expected to notify the relevant country before entering its zone, although there is no legal obligation to do so.

Earlier in late June, more than 10 Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered South Korea’s air defence identification zone.

Beijing’s Ministry of Defence said at the time that Chinese and Russian forces had conducted a “strategic air patrol” over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said the patrol was part of a normal military cooperation plan and was “not directed against any third country”.

However, South Korea still lodged a protest with Beijing and Moscow and demanded measures to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.