Russian Su-35 Attempts to Intercept Polish Plane in the Black Sea Incident

An L410 “Turbolet” aircraft “belonging to the Polish Border Police, which was performing routine patrol missions under the auspices of Frontex over the Black Sea in international airspace in cooperation with the Romanian Border Police, was intercepted by a Russian Su-35 fighter jet around 13:20 h., about 60 km east of Romanian airspace”.

According to the Romanian authorities “the aggressive and dangerous maneuvers repeatedly performed by the Russian fighter in the vicinity of the Polish plane caused a high degree of turbulence and serious difficulties in its control”.

The incident reminds about what happened in March, when the Su-27 deliberately caused the crash of an American MQ-9 “Reaper” drone over the Black Sea.

Russia discovered the downed US drone in the Black Sea, the Pentagon declassified a video of the incident

The Air Force on Romania were forewarnedready to intervene at any time.

“After the incident, two fighter jets of the Romanian Air Force and two of the Spanish Air Force as part of the Air policing combat service were pre-positioned from the NATO Joint Air Operations Center in Torrejon, being ready to intervene at any time, but not requiring take-off,” said a statement from the Romanian Ministry of Defense, quoted by “Defense Romania”.

The Polish crew acted calmly and Professionally in the situation irresponsibly created by the Russian pilot, who managed to take control of the aircraft after the initial loss of altitude caused by the maneuvering of the Su-35 fighter, managing to land safely at Mihail Koglunicanu Airport at around 13:50. None of the members of the the crew on board the Polish plane was not injured in the incident.

The Romanian authorities are in contact with Frontex and the Polish authorities, to clarify all the circumstances of the incident. The aggressive behavior of the military aircraft belonging to the Russian Federation against an unarmed aircraft carrying out a Frontex mission to monitor the migration risk in the Black Sea basin is completely unacceptable. This incident is another proof of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea.

From April 19 to May 17, 2023, a Polish L410 UVP-E20 aircraft is deployed in Romania as part of the “Maritime Multipurpose Operation (MMO) Western Black Sea 2023” coordinated by Frontex.