A Russian Su-35 fighter jet attempted to intercept the Polish Border Guard L410 TURBOLET aircraft participating in the MMO Western Black Sea 2023 mission.

This is a joint operation conducted by Romania and coordinated by Frontex. Poland, Spain, and Sweden participate in it, along with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).

The incident occurred on Friday, May 5, at about 13:20 near the Romanian coast in the area designated for the mission.

It was reported by the Border Guard Service of Poland.

The Russian Su-35 entered the MMO Western Black Sea 2023 mission zone in radio silence and carried out aggressive actions against the Polish aircraft.

The Polish Border Guard reported that the Russian fighter jet flew three times at a dangerous distance from the Polish L410 TURBOLET.

The crew noted that the distance was about 5 meters. Because of this, the Polish aircraft experienced severe turbulence.

As a result, the crew lost altitude and partially lost control.

The plane was leveled and safely landed at Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport, 20 km from the city of Constanta.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that two fighter jets of the Romanian and the Spanish Air Force were notified by NATO`s Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejón and were ready to intervene in the incident.

“The aggressive actions of a military aircraft of the Russian Federation against an unarmed aircraft of the Frontex mission monitoring migration risk in the Black Sea is completely unacceptable. This incident is further evidence of the provocative approach of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea,” the Romanian Ministry of Defense stated.

The MMO Western Black Sea 2023 operation will run until mid-December 2023. It is aimed at preventing illegal migration, illegal fishing, sea pollution, and other types of cross-border crime in the Black Sea region.

The operation has been conducted annually since 2019.

Yesterday, a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed during the exercises in South Korea.