I had thought about starting a thread about these incidents myself - it seems to be a general problem in North-West Europe these days. I'd have tried to choose a more general title.
Is there a similar problem in the Sea of Japan ?
With the Russian economy tanking under their current kleptocracy, it's perhaps unsurprising that the Russian government seeks nationalist diversions. Anyone remember Chechnya or Georgia ?
I would guess that say - a collision between an Il-20M and an A320 - would be portrayed in Russia as an act of "terror" or reckless brinkmanship by the evil West .
The incentive for the kleptocracrats seems to be to up the ante till something spectacular happens. They ain't flying.
Regarding interceptor range, maybe a Gulfstream would work better than an F16 ?