Polish, Russian fighter jets almost collide near Romania

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Romania.

On Friday, May 5th at around 1:20 p.m., a dangerous incident occurred when Russian fighter jets repeatedly carried out aggressive maneuvers in close proximity to a Polish aircraft, causing severe turbulence and control difficulties. The incident is not the first of its kind carried out by Russian aircraft, according to reports.

In response to the incident, two Romanian Air Force and two Spanish Air Force aircraft assigned to air policing missions were alerted by NATO's Joint Air Operations Center in Torrejon, Spain. However, they were not required to intervene. The Polish crew handled the situation responsibly and professionally after the initial altitude loss caused by the Su-35's maneuvers, according to the Romanian Ministry of Defense.

The Polish fighter jet managed to land safely at the international airport named after Mikhail Kogelnicanu at around 1:50 p.m., and no injuries were reported. 

The Romanian border police, in coordination with the Russian Su-35 fighter jet, conducted a scheduled patrol mission for Frontex, the European Agency for the Protection of the External Borders of the European Union, in the international airspace over the Black Sea. The Romanian authorities are presently collaborating with Frontex and Polish authorities to investigate the occurrence.

The department stated that the aggressive behavior displayed by the Russian Federation's combat aviation towards an unarmed aircraft conducting a Frontex mission to monitor migration risks in the Black Sea basin is entirely unacceptable. This incident is further evidence of the Russian Federation's provocative approach in the Black Sea.

• On March 14, an American drone was intercepted and shot down by a Russian fighter jet in international airspace over the Black Sea, resulting in the drone's destruction.