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  6.  » Russian jets ‘force British spy plane to change course near Crimea’

A Russian Su-30

  • The Moscow Defence Ministry announced that a British RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft ‘tried to approach the state border of the Russian Federation’ in Crimea
  • The statement said the plane was forced to divert by a Russian Su-30 fighter
  • Footage released by the ministry purports to show the plane soaring above the Black Sea while being followed by the Su-30

Will Stewart – Daily Mail Nov 11, 2021

Russia claimed today that one of its fighter jets chases away a British spy plane which was approaching annexed Crimea.

The Moscow Defence Ministry announced that a British RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft ‘tried to approach the state border of the Russian Federation in southwestern part of the Crimean Peninsula,’ before it was forced to divert by a Russian Su-30 fighter.

Major General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the ministry, said: ‘About 19 miles from the Russian Federation state border, the Su-30 approached the reconnaissance aircraft, after which the British plane changed course away from the Russian border.’

Footage released this morning purports to show the incident in which the RAF Boeing aircraft was intercepted over the Black Sea south of the Crimea peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

It comes after the Kremlin had warned that the West was ‘playing with fire’ and vowed to bomb any warships that sail too close to the Crimea when British destroyer HMS Defender engaged in a dramatic stand-off with Russian vessels in the Black Sea in June.

Western nations, including the US, maintain that Crimea is occupied Ukrainian territory – an assertion that continues to be a point of geopolitical tension.

The MOD has been contacted for comment.


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