A Russian Su-30 fighter jet escorted a US Poseidon P-8A reconnaissance aircraft in the sky over the Black Sea. This was reported on December 10 at the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation.
"A Su-30 fighter jet from the air defense duty of the Southern Military District forces was lifted into the air. The crew of the Russian fighter identified the aerial target as a US Navy P-8A reconnaissance aircraft and escorted it over the Black Sea," the report says.
The center added that "after the turn of a foreign military aircraft from the state border of the Russian Federation, the Russian fighter safely returned to the home airfield, violations of the state border were not allowed."
The flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict accordance with international rules, the center noted.
On December 9, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, announced that the US strategic aviation had increased the number of flights near the eastern borders of Russia. He noted that, in particular, the Americans are training cruise missile launches.
On December 8, it was reported that Russian Su-27 fighters escorted French Rafale and Mirage-2000 warplanes in the sky over the Black Sea.
Earlier, on December 3, a civilian plane flying from Tel Aviv to Moscow was forced to change course over the Black Sea to avoid a dangerous approach with an American reconnaissance aircraft. It was noted that the military aircraft randomly crossed the established routes of civil aviation and approached the passenger Airbus.
According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, the actions of the US Air Force have created a threat to civil aviation. She stressed that if in this case the catastrophe was prevented, it does not mean that the United States and NATO can risk people's lives with impunity.
On the same day, air targets approaching the border of the Russian Federation were also detected over the neutral waters of the Black Sea. To prevent the violation of the Russian border, Su-27 and Su-30 fighters were lifted into the air. The crews of Russian fighter jets identified the objects as the RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force and the CL-600 Artemis reconnaissance and targeting aircraft of the US Ground Forces and escorted them over the Black Sea.
Earlier, on November 30, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that Russia was concerned about military exercises, including unplanned ones, at its borders. The President noted that bombers were flying 20 km from the border of the Russian Federation, carrying high-precision weapons, and possibly nuclear weapons.
