Russian fighter jet 'released missile' near British Royal Air Force aircraft over Black Sea

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The conflict in Ukraine saw a surprising escalation on Thursday as a Russian fighter jet was reported to have earlier attacked a plane from the British Royal Air Force near the Black Sea. According to the Sun, the Russian fighter jets fired a missile towards an unarmed RAF plane while it was on a “routine patrol mission” in international airspace.

The attack was confirmed by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during his speech at the House of Commons. He said that the incident happened on September 29, and it involved two Su-27 fighter jets.

“I’ve communicated my concerns directly to my Russian counterpart, Defence Minister Shoigu and the Chief of Defence Staff in Moscow,” he said.

The Guardian reported him adding, “In my letter, I made clear that the aircraft was unarmed andin international airspace, following a pre-notified flight path and that it was a potentially dangerous engagement.”

In response, Russia said that it was not a planned attack and described it as a “technical malfunction”. In the letter sent in October, the Russian defence ministry said that the firing was the result of a misunderstanding and said that the jets experienced technical difficulties.

"We are dealing with a president and indeed Russian forces who, as we've seen from the Rivet Joint incident, not beyond making the wrong calculation... that the rules don't apply to them."

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was imposing martial law in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – the regions which were annexed through the referendums which were called a “sham” by the United States and other western countries.