On May 5, a Russian Su-35 jet dangerously intercepted an L410 Turbolet belonging to the Polish Border Guard. The aircraft, in cooperation with the Romanian services, carried out a scheduled patrol mission to monitor the migration risk in the Black Sea basin. About this May 6 reported Ministry of National Defense of Romania.
The incident occurred around 1320 hrs 60km east of Romanian airspace.
“Aggressive and dangerous maneuvers repeatedly performed by Russian Federation fighters near Polish aircraft created a high level of turbulence and great difficulty in managing it. As a result of the incident, two combat aircraft of the Romanian Air Force and two Spanish Air Force as part of the air police combat service were previously put on alert NATO Joint Air Operations Center in Torrejon, ready to intervene at any moment.
The crew from Poland, as noted in the Romanian ministry, “acted calmly and professionally in a situation irresponsibly created by the Russian pilot.”
The Polish pilots were able to level off the aircraft after an initial loss of altitude caused by the maneuvers of the Su-35 aircraft and landed safely at Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport at around 1350 hours. As a result of the incident, none of the crew members of the Polish aircraft was injured.
The Romanian authorities called the behavior of the Russian Su-35 “completely unacceptable” and “aggressive”. This incident was considered by the ministry “another evidence of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea.”
Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller in a comment Polsat News called the interception of the plane a planned provocation.
“It was rather a planned provocation on the part of Russia. We see that Russia is seeking to draw the attention of the international community to such provocations,” he said.
Paulina Henning-Kloska of the Poland 2050 party, meanwhile, assessed that “Russia’s provocations are getting bolder and bolder.”
“In my opinion, this also shows the impotence of Russia. They cannot attract public attention with their successes at the front, then they try to do it in a different way, namely by such provocations, which, obviously, are also aimed at NATO members,” she said. .
From April 19 to May 17, 2023, the Polish aircraft L410 UVP-E20 is in Romania as part of the multipurpose maritime operation “Western Black Sea 2023”, coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, reports RMF24 .
“Western Black Sea 2023” is a joint operation led by Romania and coordinated by Frontex, the EU agency responsible for protecting the external borders. This operation also involves Poland, Spain and Sweden, as well as two European Union agencies. Operation Western Black Sea has been held annually since 2019.
2023-05-07 12:50:31
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