Polish plane nearly crashes after Russian fighter jet crosses path | world news

A military plane belonging to the EU border protection agency almost crashed after coming within “five meters” of a Russian fighter jet.

Poland’s border guards said one of their surveillance planes, an L-410 Turbolet, was patrolling the Black Sea on behalf of Frontex on Friday.

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet approached the Polish plane without making radio contact and flew dangerously close to the plane three times, officials claimed.

The Russian jet’s dangerous maneuvers allegedly caused the Polish pilots to lose control and forced them to make an emergency landing in Romania.

Government spokesman Piotr Muller told local media: “It looks like a planned provocation by Russia, the crew acted responsibly and fortunately nothing happened.”

He added: “We can see that Russia is trying to attract international attention through such provocations.”

Romanian and Spanish planes were reportedly placed on “pre-alert” by NATO after the incident.

The perceived provocation came two days before Putin launched a new wave of rocket attacks on various locations in Ukraine ahead of tomorrow’s Victory Day celebration in Moscow, the annual commemoration of Russia’s triumph over Nazi Germany.

These included strikes in several locations in the capital Kiev, as well as in the southern port city of Odessa, the southern Kherson region, the Zaporizhia region in the south-east and the Sumy region in the north-east.

Attacks on Russian targets in Ukraine have also increased recently, particularly in the Russian-held areas of Crimea.

Although Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for these attacks, officials say they are nonetheless attempting to destroy key enemy infrastructure before launching an imminent full-scale counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Ukraine hopes this counter-offensive, aimed at liberating remaining Russian-controlled territories, will decisively turn the tide of a 15-month war that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

During a visit to The Hague, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Russian forces had committed more than 6,000 war crimes on Ukrainian soil in April alone.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, Visit our news page.