It has been revealed that, last Thursday, the Russian defence ministry scrambled two Su-27 fighter jets, allegedly to prevent three British military planes from entering Russian airspace. Tensions over the Black Sea escalated when the three British aircraft were identified as an RC-135 reconnaissance plane and two Typhoon fighters.
“A pair of Su-27 fighters from the air defence duty force were flown to identify the air targets and prevent violation of the state border of the Russian Federation,” reads a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
„This claim is completely false,” hit back the UK MoD. “At no time did the RAF aircraft attempt to enter Russian sovereign airspace.”
The exact proximity between the Russian and British planes remains unclear, but Russia claims to have acted “in strict compliance with international rules on the use of airspace over neutral waters, without crossing air routes or coming dangerously close to aircraft of a foreign state.”
This incident highlights the growing significance of the Black Sea in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has directed Russian planes equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to conduct patrols over the Black Sea.
Russia’s assertive military posturing in the region is not limited to interactions with the UK. In September, a Russian pilot launched two missiles at an RAF surveillance plane over the Black Sea, which the UK Ministry of Defence accepted as a technical malfunction.
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