Warsaw, May 10, (dpa/GNA) – The Polish Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador, following a controversial intercept manoeuvre by a Russian fighter jet, which came dangerously close to a Polish aircraft last week, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“We strongly condemn the provocative and aggressive behavior of the Russian side, which is a serious international incident,” Lukasz Jasina said on Twitter.
Poland’s border guards said on Friday that a Russian fighter jet had approached a Polish plane, that was on a patrol flight for the EU border protection agency Frontex over the Black Sea.
The Russian Su-35 fighter jet carried out “aggressive and dangerous manoeuvres,” the border guards said.
The crew of the Polish aircraft temporarily lost control of the turboprop aircraft, which lost altitude due to the turbulence caused by the jet fighter.
The incident occurred in international airspace within the area of operations designated by Romania.
Amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, EU, NATO, and Russian aircraft have repeatedly approached each other over the Black Sea, leading to several dangerous incidents in the past.
Frontex has since suspended patrol flights conducted by Poland – an EU and NATO country and one of Kiev’s most ardent supporters – for the time being.
NATO has also ramped up surveillance of the airspace.
GNA