UK rejects Moscow’s claim RAF aircraft entered Russian territory

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the RC-135 Rivet Joint flight was part of a “regular mission”.
• A Russian fighter conducted an “unsafe close pass” of the aircraft over international seas.
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• Russia considers the incident to be a “deliberate provocation”.

The United Kingdom has disputed that an RAF jet crossed Russian airspace near the Arctic Circle, following the Kremlin’s accusation of “deliberate provocation.”

The RC-135 Rivet Joint flight was part of a “regular mission” on Monday, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

According to the report, a Russian fighter conducted a “unsafe close pass” of the surveillance aircraft over international seas.

Moscow stated that it was “tasked with preventing violations of Russian Federation airspace.”

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) disputed accusations that a Royal Air Force (RAF) plane crossed the Russian border in the Arctic Circle, saying the plane “at no time” entered Russian airspace.

The RC-135, located at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, was talking with Russian civilian air traffic control during the mission, which carried it over the Norwegian and Barents seas in the Arctic Circle.

Russia announced on Monday that the United Kingdom has submitted a flight plan application “to fly along a route encompassing over Russian Federation territory” near Cape Svyatoy Nos.

The Kremlin said it considers “this action to be a deliberate provocation” and its air force has “been tasked with preventing the violation of Russian Federation airspace”.