Russian fighter jets intercept British warplanes over Black Sea, says Defence Ministry

According to a statement released by Russia‘s defence ministry on Monday, Russian fighter jets were dispatched after the detection of two British warplanes nearing the Russian border over the Black Sea.

The foreign warplanes reportedly distanced themselves from the Russian border as Russian jets neared.

The defence ministry identified the intercepted aircraft as two British Typhoon jets, which were accompanied by an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. It assured that there was no violation of the Russian border and that the Russian planes had safely returned to their airfield.

Russia’s Defence Ministry reports intercepting British warplanes in Black Sea incident. Photo courtesy of Chris Lofting/Wikimedia Commons.

Amid the ongoing offensive in Ukraine, encounters between Russian and Western aircraft have been increasing over the Black Sea and Baltic Sea. In May, Russia claimed it had scrambled a Su-27 fighter jet to prevent two US Air Force strategic bombers from violating its state border over the Baltic Sea.

Once the foreign military aircraft had been removed from the vicinity of the Russian state border, the Russian fighter jet returned to its base, according to the defence ministry. The ministry insisted that the flight of the Russian fighter adhered to international rules for airspace use.

In March, tensions escalated after an American drone was downed following a collision with a Russian jet over the Black Sea. The US military labelled the incident as “reckless”, alleging that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet had downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.

The Pentagon released a declassified, edited video showing a Russian military jet coming perilously close to a US military drone and dumping fuel near it. The US claimed that the Russian aircraft damaged the drone’s propeller during the intercept.

Russia, on the other hand, denied these allegations, asserting that the drone crashed due to its own “sharp manoeuvres” after flying provocatively close to Russian airspace near Crimea. The Russian defence ministry’s statement indicated that the Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, had warned his US counterpart about the provocative nature of American drone flights near Crimea’s coast and the potential for escalation in the Black Sea zone.