A Russian fighter jet has intercepted a Polish plane during a patrol flight for the EU border protection agency Frontex. The Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet did not make radio contact before performing “aggressive and dangerous maneuvers,” Polish border guards said on Sunday. The Polish jet then landed safely in Romania. Poland and Romania spoke of a “provocation” by Russia.
The Russian fighter plane approached the Polish plane “three times without maintaining the required safety distance,” Frontex explained. According to information from Warsaw, the Polish aircraft got into “considerable turbulence”. In the meantime, the five-man crew had “lost control of the aircraft and altitude”. The Russian fighter jet flew “right in front of the plane’s nose” and crossed its flight path at a distance of “about five meters”.
After the incident, the Polish plane landed safely in Romania. Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller called the incident a “planned provocation by Russia” on the Polsat News TV channel.
The Polish border guard plane was on a routine Frontex flight on Friday, the Romanian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday. The incident happened “in international airspace over the Black Sea”, about 60 kilometers east of Romanian airspace. Romanian and Spanish aircraft were then put on “pre-alert” by NATO.
“This incident is further evidence of the Russian Federation’s provocative actions in the Black Sea,” Bucharest said. The Polish aircraft has been stationed in Romania since April 19 and is scheduled to remain there until May 17. It is part of a Frontex operation organized by Romania, in which Spain and Sweden are also involved.
In recent years, incidents involving aircraft from Russia and NATO countries have increased, even before the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began. Incidents often happened over the Baltic Sea, but also over the Black Sea and other areas.
