Russian warplanes intercepted three French military aircraft in the Black Sea
A Russian warplane took off to intercept three French warplanes that were approaching its border over the Black Sea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, an incident denied by Paris.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that “as the Russian fighter approached, the foreign military aircraft returned,” indicating that they were two Rafale aircraft and a reconnaissance aircraft belonging to the French army.
The Russian Ministry of Defense added that “the Russian plane returned safely to the airport from which it took off, and no violation of the Russian state borders occurred,” in light of tensions between Paris and the Kremlin.
A French military source confirmed to Agence France-Presse that “the air mission was carried out in accordance with the conditions of navigation in the international sphere; No incident occurred”.
The interception process involves confronting an aircraft that has entered or approached the airspace.
Accidents involving Russian aircraft and aircraft from North Atlas NATO countries are fairly common, and were even recorded before the conflict in Ukraine began.
They were often recorded over the Black Sea, in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere as well.
Tuesday’s incident comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron made statements in which he didn’t rule out the possibility of sending Western forces to Ukraine, which was rejected by most Western allies.
After confirming his statements that sparked controversy, Macron clarified on Tuesday that he didn’t want escalation with Russia.
