French defense officials have reported an incident where Russian forces issued a threat to shoot down a French surveillance aircraft operating in international airspace over the Black Sea. This event has heightened concerns about Moscow’s military conduct as its conflict with Ukraine continues.
According to French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu, during a radio interview on RTL, the threat came from a Russian air traffic control system while the French aircraft was patrolling a recognized international zone. Colonel Pierre Gaudillière, a spokesperson for the French military, specified that the incident involved a French Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and occurred in mid-November. Gaudillière noted that the threat represented an aggressive interaction, marking a first of its kind for French operations in that region.
Details provided by two anonymous officials revealed that the exchange was conducted in English, with Russian air traffic control threatening to “destroy” the French aircraft. Lecornu connected this behavior to a broader pattern of aggression from Russia, which he suggested was due to difficulties faced by the Russian military in Ukraine.
French air force AWACS aircraft are part of NATO’s efforts to monitor military activities along its eastern flank, including the airspace over the Black Sea. These missions aim to detect missile launches and other military movements, especially around areas of strategic interest like the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.
The incident adds to a series of encounters between Russian and Western military assets in the region. Previous events include a Russian fighter jet releasing a missile near a British surveillance aircraft in 2022 and a U.S. surveillance drone being forced down by a Russian jet in March 2023.
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