ONE of Putin’s fighter jets has been scrambled to intercept three British planes approaching the state border over the Black Sea.
Russian state media allege that a Su-30 fighter from their air force acted quickly to prevent a violation of their border.
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Russia has claimed that the jet identified their targets as an RC-135 electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft, and two RAF Typhoon multi-role fighters.
Russian media reported that the aircraft were forced to back away from the Russian border as the fighter jet approached.
It has also been alleged that the Russian plane was then able to return safely to its home airfield.
No conflict was reported and the Russian state has said that there was no violation of the State Border of the Russian Federation.
It has been added that the flight of the Russian fighter followed all international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters.
A spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the British operation was both safe and legal.
The spokesperson told The Sun: “A Royal Air Force Rivet Joint and two Typhoon aircraft carried out a safe and legal operation in international airspace over the Black Sea today on a pre-planned and notified flight path.
“At no time did the aircraft attempt to enter Russian airspace.”
The spokesperson added that RAF aircraft have routinely patrolled the Black Sea in response to Putin’s war against Ukraine.
The news comes six months after a Russian fighter jet attempted to shoot down a British spy plane just off the coast of Ukraine.
In September, the pilot of a Su-27 fighter jet fired two missiles at a British plane that was carrying 30 crew members.
At the time, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the unarmed RAF Rivet Joint was on routine patrol in international airspace when it was tailed by the rival jets.
Moscow blamed the missile launch on a “technical malfunction”, but it later emerged that the first missile had simply missed the target – not malfunctioned.
It has since been revealed that one of the Russian pilots thought he had been given the green light to open fire on the British plane.
According to sources, the pilot misinterpreted the words “you have the target” as permission to strike the plane down.
The sources added that the missile had launched successfully but failed to lock onto the plane – meaning that it was simply a near-miss.
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