Near Romanian airspace, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet intercepted a Polish L410 border guard aircraft while flying over the Black Sea.
This was reported by the press service of the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
The air incident occurred on Friday, May 5, at about 13:20. The ministry noted that this is not the first time such actions have been repeated by Russian aircraft.
“Aggressive and dangerous maneuvers repeatedly performed by Russian fighters near Polish aircraft created a high level of turbulence and serious difficulties in the management of Polish aircraft,” the statement said.
Following the incident, NATO’s Joint Air Operations Center in Torrejon, Spain, alerted two Romanian Air Force combat aircraft and two Spanish Air Force aircraft assigned to air policing missions to the dangerous situation. They were ready to intervene if necessary, but it was not necessary.
“The Polish crew acted calmly and professionally in a situation irresponsibly created by the Russian pilot and was able to fully control the aircraft after the initial loss of altitude caused by the maneuvers of the Su-35,” the Romanian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that the Polish fighter jet was able to land successfully at the Mihail Kogelnicianu International Airport at about 13:50. None of the Polish crew was injured during the incident.
The Russian Su-35 fighter jet, in cooperation with the Romanian Border Police, was conducting a routine patrol mission in the international airspace over the Black Sea, coordinated by Frontex (the European Agency for the Protection of the External Borders of the European Union). Romanian authorities are currently in contact with Frontex and Polish authorities to investigate the incident.
“Aggressive behavior such as that demonstrated by the Russian Federation’s combat aircraft against an unarmed aircraft carrying out a Frontex mission to monitor migration risk in the Black Sea basin is completely unacceptable. This incident is yet another indication of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea,” the ministry summarized.
On March 14, a Russian fighter jet intercepted and hit a US drone in international airspace over the Black Sea, resulting in the drone being eliminated.
