The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that a Russian fighter plane intercepted over the Black Sea a Polish plane that was on a mission with the European Agency for Border and Coast Guard (Frontex), considering it “aggressive and unacceptable behavior” by Moscow.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that a Russian fighter plane intercepted over the Black Sea a Polish plane that was on a mission with the European Agency for Border and Coast Guard (Frontex), considering it “aggressive and unacceptable behavior” by Moscow.
A statement issued by the ministry said the Polish plane was on a routine patrol with Romanian border guards for Frontex when it was intercepted by “aggressive and dangerous maneuvers” repeatedly carried out by a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter.
It explained that the accident of the unarmed Polish plane occurred “in the international airspace over the Black Sea”, 60 km east of Romanian airspace.
The statement added that with the occurrence of the accident, NATO put the Romanian and Spanish planes participating in the mission “on alert”, before the Polish crew could land it safely.
The Polish plane managed to land in Romania “after a sharp drop in the air” and then encountered “serious difficulty in controlling” due to the “turbulence” caused by the accident, according to the ministry.
Bucharest considered the incident “further evidence of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation over the Black Sea,” the statement said.
Frontex did not immediately respond to questions from AFP. The Polish Border Guard also declined to comment on the incident, stating that a statement in this regard would be issued on Sunday.
The Polish plane was deployed to Romania on April 19 and is scheduled to remain there until May 17 as part of a Frontex mission organized by Romania that also includes Spain and Sweden.
