Sunday, December 5th, 2021
Incident over the Black Sea
Russian passenger plane has to avoid a military jet
According to Russian sources, a dangerous incident occurred in the airspace over the Black Sea. A military scout forces a plane belonging to the state airline Aeroflot to change course. The guilty party quickly becomes clear to the Kremlin.
According to the authorities, a Russian passenger plane had to avoid a NATO reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea. The reconnaissance jet “sank quickly” and crossed the route of the Airbus of the airline Aeroflot, reported the Interfax news agency, citing the Russian aviation authority. The crew of the reconnaissance aircraft did not react to the reports from the air traffic controllers, which is why the scheduled aircraft changed its route.
According to Interfax, the Russian plane sank 500 meters to gain distance from the reconnaissance plane. The pilots could therefore see it from the cockpit. The plane with 142 people on board was en route from Tel Aviv to Moscow. According to the aviation authority, a private jet traveling from the Russian seaside resort of Sochi to the North Macedonian capital Skopje also had to change course.
Kremlin: USA and NATO endanger human life
“The increased flight activity of NATO aircraft near the Russian borders leads to a risk of dangerous incidents with civil aircraft,” criticized the authority. You will “protest” through diplomatic channels. The authorities did not specify which country the reconnaissance aircraft came from.
The Russian government also expressed outrage and criticized the United States directly. “A disaster was prevented,” said Foreign Office spokeswoman Maria Sakharova. “But that doesn’t mean that the US and NATO can continue to risk human lives with impunity.” The US Air Force poses a threat to civil aviation.
The incident took place against the background of mounting tensions between Russia and the West over the conflict in Ukraine. In view of a massive deployment of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, there have long been fears that Russia could attack the neighboring country. Moscow rejects such allegations. In return, the Kremlin accuses Ukraine of letting the West arm itself with military equipment and denounces NATO military maneuvers near the Russian borders.
US President Joe Biden announced a series of “initiatives” to protect Ukraine from a possible Russian attack. On Tuesday he wants to hold a video summit with Russia’s head of state Vladimir Putin.