Russian Flanker jet confronts US spy plane over Black Sea (RT News)
Russia Intercepted Two US Planes Just the Day Before
Jason Ditz /AntiWar.com
(July 31, 2020) — On Thursday, Russian jet intercepted two US spy planes over the Black Sea, saying they were approaching the Russian border without permission, and that this was four times they’d had to intercept US planes in just over a week.
Underscoring that nothing appears to have been learned, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported Friday that the US sent another plane in the Black Sea, near the border, and a Russian Su-27 had to intercept and force them to change course.
These interceptions are getting almost ridiculously common, particularly since the US is not a Black Sea power and would have no more than a very limited presence related to other nations that have coastlines in the mostly inland sea.
Russia and NATO member Romania have some disputes over the Black Sea, and the US involvement is likely to continue to stay involved, even in a limited way, just to brag about how anti-Russia they are being.
US and Russian jets in the sky over the Black Sea.
Russia Intercepts US Spy Planes Over Black Sea for Fourth Time This Week
(July 30, 2020) — Russia has reported that one of their Su-27 jets intercepted two US spy planes over the Black Sea on Thursday, noting this is the fourth time in the past week they’ve caught US planes in the sea, approaching the Russian border.
US officials have not commented on why those spy planes are there, but the US has seemed to have growing interest in the Black Sea as tensions grow between Russia and NATO member Romania over control of the inland sea.
The US has very limited legal ability to put ships in the sea, and thus little opportunity to send surveillance planes from ships in the area so they can approach the Russian border in such a way.
While intercepting spy planes near one’s border is standard, the US almost always expresses outrage when Russia intercepts them, as they did Thursday. Expect the Pentagon to fault Russia for an “unsafe” interception in the days to come.
In third incident in a week, a Russian jet intercepts a US spy plane as it approaches the Russian border.
Russia Claims it Intercepted US Spy Plane over Black Sea
(July 28, 2020) — The Russian defense ministry said in a statement that it had sent a Su-27 fighter plane on Monday to intercept a US surveillance plane over the Black Sea that it said was approaching the Russian border.
The Su-27 fighter jet, with the capacity to immediately detect up to ten targets within a radius of 100 kilometers, took off from a coastal airfield after the radar detected the spy plane was scanning Russia’s southern borders, some 8,000 kilometers away from home.
The US plane was identified as a P-8А Poseidon and was given no permission for the path, according to the statement. The US surveillance plane was forced to change its course, moving away from the Russian border, the ministry added.
This is the third time in less than a week that Russia spotted US spy planes, two of these flyovers above the Black Sea happened last Thursday and Friday, Russian Media outlet Russia Today reported.
Since 2014, when Russia absorbed Crimea and a conflict broke out in Eastern Ukraine, the US has intensified its surveillance over Russia, which Moscow deems provocative.
The incident on Monday comes less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the plan to strengthen Russia’s military power in the sea. He confirmed on Sunday that the Navy would be armed with nuclear strike weapons and underwater nuclear drones.
US missile cruiser enters Black Sea as Russia monitors NATO drills.
Russia Holds Drills in Black Sea Following NATO Exercises
(July 30, 2020) — Russian warships have begun large-scale drills in the Black Sea, the country’s defense ministry said Wednesday on the heels of US-led exercises in the same region.
Accompanied by warplanes and helicopters, over 20 ships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet, including a frigate, small missile ships and large landing vessels, are participating in the drills, the ministry said.
The troops will undergo training in naval combat, as well as anti-aircraft and anti-sabotage defense.
The Russian drills come shortly after the Ukrainian-US naval exercises Sea Breeze 2020 ended on Monday in the Black Sea.
The weeklong exercises involved some 2,000 servicemen and over 20 ships and aircraft from eight countries, namely Ukraine, the United States, Bulgaria, Georgia, Spain, Norway, Romania and Turkey.
The annual exercises have been held in Ukraine since 1997 as part of the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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