The Ukrainian Navy is accusing Russia of “unsafe” intercept of an An-26 military transport aircraft which occurred over the Black Sea.
According to the Ukrainian Navy’s statement, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet made an “unsafe” intercept of a Ukrainian An-26 military transport plane while it was flying over the Black Sea.
The incident occurred on 21 September, when 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,” said the press service of Ukrainian Navy.
Russia now formally controls a much larger portion of the Black Sea, which includes the entire coastline of the Crimean peninsula. The Eastern part of Crimea –including the Kerch straits– are now under Russia’s jurisdiction control. On the Eastern side of the Kerch straits is Russia’s Krasnodar region and extending southwards are the port cities of Novorossiysk and Sochi.
Russia has been building up its Black Sea Fleet and overall military posture since seizing Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014, a move condemned by the United States and much of the world.
