According to a leaked Pentagon document circulating on social media, a Russian fighter jet nearly shot down an unarmed British surveillance plane over the Black Sea last year. On September 29, the British surveillance plane was flying off the coast of Crimea when the near miss occurred.
According to the Washington Post, UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace told Parliament’s House of Commons in October last year that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted the RC-135 in international airspace over the Black Sea, flying “recklessly,” with one plane coming within 15 feet of the British aircraft.
Mr. Wallace also stated that one of the Russian jets “released a missile” at a distance, but he did not call the incident a near-missile launch and blamed the missile launch on a “technical malfunction.”
According to the newspaper, Mr. Wallace did not describe the incident in those terms when he spoke to British lawmakers. If things had gone differently, the incident could have sparked a larger conflict with NATO, potentially pushing the US into direct conflict with Russia.
This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) received a referral regarding the leak from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
The document that was leaked was marked as “SECRET/NOFORN,” which means that it is not to be shared with people who are not citizens of the United States.
It also details several other Russian responses to surveillance flights by US, British, and French aircraft between October and the end of February, including one on December 30 in which another British Rivet Joint, accompanied by two British Typhoon fighter jets, was intercepted by Russian jets that came within 100 feet, according to the newspaper.
According to Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, “The Department of Defense is actively reviewing the matter and has made a formal referral to the Department of Justice for investigation,” she said in a statement.
According to the news portal, the source of the leak is unknown and includes troves of documents. According to an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leak could have been staged by Russians to spread misinformation, as some analysts speculate that the documents were slightly doctored in favor of Russia.
