The Ukrainian Navy accused Russia of ‘unsafe’ intercept of its An-26 military transport aircraft flying over the black sea.
In a statement, the Ukrainian Navy expressed concerns on what it termed as unsafe intercept by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet on its transport aircraft that was flying over the Black Sea on September 21.
According to the statement, the Russian Su-27 jet crossed directly in front of the flight path of the An-26 aircraft of Ukrainian Navy in international airspace.
“On September 21, the Russian Su-27 fighter (from the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimea, flight number 30) made the preconditions for an emergency in the air, approaching at the dangerous distance with the military transport aircraft of the An-26 Ukrainian Naval Forces, which fulfilled the scheduled task above the Black Sea area,” the press service of Ukrainian Navy reported.
Russia now officially controls a much larger portion of the Black Sea, which includes the entire coastline of the Crimean peninsula. The Eastern parts of Crimea –including the Kerch straits– are now under Russia’s jurisdiction control.
Russia has been constructing its Black Sea Fleet and overall military posture since grabbing Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014, a move strongly condemned by the United States and much of the world.
