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BBC: A Russian pilot tried to shoot down a British airliner last year

2023-09-14 17:31:48, Kosova & Bota CNA

BBC: A Russian pilot tried to shoot down a British airliner last year

A Russian pilot deliberately fired missiles at a Royal Air Force surveillance plane in international space over the Black Sea last year, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Russia had blamed a "technical malfunction" for this incident.

The British broadcaster said that, based on overheard communications, the Russian pilot of the Russian Su-27 fighter jet fired at the unnamed British aircraft in September 2022 after receiving an unclear order from a Russian ground station, and that the co-pilot his had tried to stop him.

The British plane has sensors that intercept communications, so its crew was able to hear the incident.

Publicly, British officials have downplayed the incident. Britain's defense minister at the time, Ben Wallace, told lawmakers in October that a Russian warplane "fired a missile in the vicinity" of a British plane and that he had asked Russia's defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, for an explanation.

He said Russia had responded by saying "it was a technical malfunction of the Su-27 fighter jet".

"We do not believe this incident was a deliberate escalation on the part of the Russians, and our analysis concluded that it was due to a malfunction," Wallace said.

Asked about Thursday's report, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Wallace had "informed the British Parliament three weeks after the incident in the interests of transparency and security".

"Our goal has always been to protect the security of our operations, avoid unnecessary escalation and notify the public and the international community," the Ministry said. "This incident is a real warning of the possible consequences of Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine."

Max Blain, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said the prime minister was confident Wallace had not misinformed lawmakers with his statement, adding that "of course, there are limits to what operational data can be said publicly." for security reasons"./ REL





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