RUSSIA has released shocking footage of the moment it claims three British aircraft approached Russian air space.
Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets were scrambled in response to the approach by the British RC-135 “electronic warfare aircraft” and its escorts near the Black Sea.
East2WestThe British aircraft performed a U-turn[/caption]
East2WestThe Russian defence ministry released photos of the interaction[/caption]
Footage shows the chem trails from the alleged British plane and fighter jets in the sky, when suddenly the two Russian jets approach.
The incident comes amid high tensions over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine where there is intense fighting across a wide front.
And the Kremlin is said to be furious over the new US supply of long range ATACMS weapons to Kyiv.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said: “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.
“The Russian fighter crews identified the aerial targets as an RC-135 radio-technical reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft and two British Air Force Typhoon multi role fighters.”
The ministry claimed that as the Russian fighter jets approached, the foreign aircraft performed a U-turn away from Russian territories.
Russia says the interception “was carried out 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”.
Russian state news agency TASS boasted that the Russian Su-27s were deployed to “prevent British planes from violating the state border over the Black Sea”.
Yet the statement admitted that the RAF planes were “in airspace over neutral waters”.
The close call comes a month after a Russian fighter jet fired two missiles at a UK spy plane over the Black Sea.
At the time Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the unarmed RAF Rivet Joint was on routine patrol in international airspace when it was tailed by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets.
During the 90-minute interaction, one of the jets fired two missiles near the RAF plane.
The first one missed the target rather than malfunctioning – Moscow had blamed the missile launch on a “technical malfunction.”
The Defence Secretary had said that Britain suspended patrols following the incident which he described as a “potentially dangerous engagement.”
East2WestThe UK spy plane diverted after being approached by the jets[/caption]
AlamyTwo Russian SU-27 jets were deployed to follow the UK craft[/caption]