Moscow says it stopped Ukraine and Britain from stealing a MiG-31 fighter jet carrying a hypersonic missile in a planned ‘provocation’.
MOSCOW: Russia said Tuesday it foiled an Anglo-Ukrainian plot to hijack a military jet carrying a hypersonic missile.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed it uncovered an operation by Ukraine’s defence ministry and “British supervisors” to steal a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet.
Kyiv allegedly attempted to recruit Russian pilots by offering them USD 3 million and Western citizenship.
The FSB said Ukraine planned to have the plane flown toward a NATO base in Constanta, Romania, where it would be shot down by air defences.
“This was a large-scale provocation,” the security service stated.
State media published an FSB video showing a concealed soldier claiming he received recruitment emails from Ukrainian intelligence.
In retaliation, Russian forces hit a Ukrainian military intelligence centre and airfield in Kyiv and Khmelnitsky regions.
Russia regularly accuses Kyiv and European allies of sabotage operations, often without providing evidence.
Throughout its Ukraine offensive, Russia has faced sabotage attacks, particularly on its rail network.
In August 2023, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter pilot defected to Ukraine in an operation led by Kyiv’s security services.
The pilot, Maxim Kuzminov, was found dead in Spain in February 2024. – AFP
