Russia claims a flight with 142 people on board had to divert to avoid a NATO spy plane

This Sunday, the Russian government affirmed that a “catastrophe” had been averted after a Russian airliner was forced to change its trajectory to avoid a NATO spy plane, over the Black Sea.

“A catastrophe was avoided […], but this does not mean that the United States and NATO can continue to put lives at risk with total impunity ”, Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zajárova said in a statement.

According to the Russian civil aviation agency (Rosaviatsia), the incident occurred when the spy plane “Descended rapidly”, crossing the route established by an Airbus of the Aeroflot company that covered the route between Tel Aviv and Moscow with 142 people on board.

Consequently, “the direction and altitude of the commercial flight were changed immediately,” Rosaviatsia said in a statement sent to the AFP this Sunday, in which he explained that the spy plane crew did not respond to messages from air traffic controllers.

According to the Russian agency Interfax, the Russian plane descended 500 meters to get away from the reconnaissance plane.

A private jet flying from Sochi to Skopje also changed course because of the spy plane, according to Rosaviatsia.

“The increasing activity of NATO aircraft flights near the borders of Russia […] causes a risk of dangerous incidents with civilian apparatus ”, Rosaviatsia denounced, warning that she plans to “protest” through diplomatic channels.

The spy plane’s nationality was not specified, but Zajárova accused the US Air Force of “Represent a risk to civil aviation.”

Neither NATO nor the United States reacted to those accusations for the time being.

The incident occurred in a context of tension between Russia and Western countries, who accuse the Russian government of concentrating troops on the borders of Ukraine, with a view to an invasion, something that Moscow denies. (I)