Poland’s border authority said on Sunday, May 7th, that on Friday, one of its aircraft had been intercepted by a Russian jet while flying over the Black Sea.
Through a series of “aggressive and dangerous” aerial maneuvers, its statement reads, the Russian aircraft caused turbulence, forcing the Polish crew to land in Romania.
Poland’s border guard added that its plane, a Polish Turbolet L-410, was conducting patrols over the Black Sea—which is international airspace—for EU border protection agency Frontex when the incident took place.
There, it was approached by a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet that had flown “without any radio contact into the operational area designated by Romania,” where it performed “aggressive and dangerous maneuvers,” the border authority explained.
“The Russian warplane flew right in front of the plane’s nose, crossing its flight path at a dangerous distance,” the statement said, adding that according to the crew’s assessment, the distance was about 5 meters.
According to the agency, the Russian aircraft had made three approaches towards the Polish plane, causing turbulence that forced its crew of five into landing in Romania which, having “demonstrated excellent skills and especially great composure,” they managed to do safely.
Following its third approach, the Russian fighter jet moved away.
The event was first reported by Romania’s Ministry of National Defense the following day. In its statement, the ministry condemned the Russian plane’s “aggressive and dangerous” behavior.
“This incident is further evidence of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea,” said Bucharest, adding that the behavior of the Russian aircraft was “totally unacceptable.”
While Romanian and Spanish aircraft were placed on “pre-alert” by NATO as the incident unfolded, an intervention was not deemed necessary, the statement concluded.
On Sunday, May 7th, Frontex confirmed the version of events as described by Romanian authorities, disclosing that the Polish aircraft in question was participating in the Multipurpose Maritime Operation (MMO) in the Western Black Sea 2023.
Such operations are conducted to monitor the EU’s external maritime border.
The Kremlin thus far has not issued any statement.
The incident echoes a similar one back in March when a Russian fighter jet allegedly forced down a U.S. military ‘Reaper’ surveillance drone over the Black Sea. The U.S. military said the Russian aircraft first dumped fuel on the American drone and then hit its propeller, turning it inoperable which ultimately caused it to crash in the water.
