On Thursday evening, it became known about a new provocative flight of NATO aircraft near our borders.
"On December 9, 2021, Russian airspace controls over the neutral waters of the Black Sea detected air targets approaching the state border of the Russian Federation," the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation reported. To identify and escort foreign planes, Su-27 fighters on duty were lifted into the sky.
Approaching the foreign sides, our pilots identified them as two Mirage-2000 and Rafale tactical fighters of the French Aerospace Forces, the CL-600 Artemis reconnaissance aircraft of the US Army, the RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the United States Air Force, as well as the French KS-135 tanker aircraft.
Their crews did not attempt to enter Russian airspace. Therefore, after escorting foreign planes over the Black Sea, the Russian fighters returned to their airfield.
It would seem that nothing special happened. However, this fact draws attention to itself. More precisely, a few facts. First of all, planes that did not belong to the countries of the region flew over the Black Sea waters. In addition, they were located near the borders of Russia. The next alarming fact is that the Mirage-2000 and Rafale tactical fighters, as well as the KS-135 tanker aircraft of the French Aerospace Forces, appeared in these places the day before, and Russian fighters also had to be lifted into the sky to accompany them.
Finally, it is worth bearing in mind that it was the CL-600 Artemis reconnaissance aircraft of the US Army that crossed international air routes over the Black Sea some time ago. Which jeopardized the safety of two civilian airliners at once, including the aircraft of the Russian company Aeroflot with passengers on board. This incident received a great public response, and the Russian Foreign Ministry even submitted a protest note to the United States on this occasion.
The noticeably more frequent flights of NATO military aircraft over the Black Sea near the borders of the Russian Federation, in addition to purely intelligence purposes, clearly have a special subtext. NATO members are trying in every possible way to exert psychological pressure on Russia and provoke it to retaliate. However, our military has strong nerves. They do not give in to provocations. But we are ready, if necessary, to use force in the event of a threat of NATO planes or ships crossing the Russian borders.
Yuri Gavrilov
