Canadian fighter jets will be patrolling the edge of Russian airspace next week as part of NATO's response to the unravelling situation in Ukraine.
At least four of the six CF-18s sent overseas by the Harper government earlier this year have arrived at Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, where they will fly air policing missions over the Baltic states.
The missions are meant to reassure European allies unnerved by Russia’s seizure of the Crimean Peninsula, as well as the military action currently unfolding in eastern Ukraine.
The jets, which had been based in Romania on a training exercise, are tasked with defending Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian airspace because those countries are unable to do so on their own.
The deployment comes against the unfolding backdrop of heavy fighting and an apparent Russian invasion, and brings Canadian fighters as close to Russian territory as they've been since the crisis began.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says Russia's recent escalation of the fighting is totally unacceptable, and is calling on President Vladimir Putin's regime to halt its invasion.
