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| Russian Su-35 Fighter Jets Unsafely Intercept Polish L-410 Over the Black Sea |
International Military - A Russian Su-35 fighter jet has unsafely intercepted a Polish border guard L-410 Turbolet aircraft participating in the MMO Western Black Sea 2023 mission. The mission was a joint operation led by Romania in the Frontex exercise in which Poland, Spain participated , and Sweden with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).
The incident occurred on Friday, May 5, at around 1:20 pm, near the Romanian Coast and was later reported by the Polish Border Guard Service. It stated that the Russian Su-35 entered the mission zone of the West Black Sea MMO 2023 in radio silence and took aggressive action against the Polish aircraft, the report explained.
The Polish Border Guard reported that the Russian fighter flew three times at a dangerous distance from the Polish L-410. The crew noted the distance was only about 5 meters. As a result of this very close flight, the Polish plane experienced intense turbulence. The plane lost control and altitude. The L-410 then flew away from the Su-35 and landed safely at Mihail Kogalniceanu International Airport, 20 km from the city of Constanta.
Operation West Black Sea MMO 2023 will last until mid-December 2023. The operation aims to prevent illegal migration, illegal fishing, marine pollution and other types of transborder crime in the Black Sea region.