Russian civilian flight deviates from course to avoid NATO spy plane, Moscow says – RT in english | Today Headlines

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency announced that a Russian airliner, from Tel Aviv to Moscow, had to change its course to avoid a spy device belonging to NATO and present over the Black Sea.

A Russian airliner was forced to change course to avoid a NATO spy device crossing its intended flight lane over the Black Sea, Russian authorities reported on the evening of December 4. The spy plane “came down quickly”, crossing the route established for an Airbus of the company Aeroflot which was making the connection between Tel Aviv and Moscow with 142 people on board, said the Russian Federal Agency of Air Transport, as quoted by the Interfax press agency.

Therefore, “the direction and altitude of the commercial flight were immediately changed,” continued the same source, adding that the crew of the spy plane did not respond to messages from air traffic controllers. According to Interfax, the Russian plane plunged 500 meters to keep away from the reconnaissance device and its pilots could see it from the cockpit.

A private jet that flew to Skopje from Sochi, a Russian seaside resort, also changed its course because of the spy plane, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency. “The increased activity of flights of NATO aircraft near the borders of Russia […] creates a risk of dangerous incidents involving civilian aircraft, ”denounced the agency, adding that it was going to“ protest ”through diplomatic channels.

The nationality of the spy device was not specified. But Russian fighter jets had been dispatched the day before to the Black Sea region to escort two US reconnaissance planes, according to Russian media.

The incident comes amid growing tensions between Russia and Western countries, which accuse Moscow of massing troops on Ukraine’s borders in preparation for an invasion. Russia denies any plan in this direction and accuses NATO countries of increasing “provocations”, notably with recent military exercises near its borders in the Black Sea.