Russia Announces Thwarting of Ukrainian-British Operation Aimed at Hijacking a "MiG-31" Aircraft

SadaNews - The Russian Federal Security Service announced today, Tuesday, that it has thwarted a Ukrainian-British operation aimed at hijacking a "MiG-31" aircraft equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, according to the TASS agency.

The agency reported that the Ukrainian intelligence attempted to recruit Russian pilots to carry out the hijacking operation in exchange for a promise of $3 million.

The Russian security service further stated that Ukrainian intelligence was planning to target NATO's largest airbase in Constanța, Romania, in Southeast Europe with the hijacked aircraft for provocation purposes.

The service indicated that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense planned the operation in cooperation with British officials, adding that it thwarted "the plans of Ukrainian and British intelligence to carry out a large-scale provocation," as it described.

State television displayed images of messages and recordings of a man said to be working for Ukrainian and British intelligence, offering $3 million to a Russian pilot to fly the MiG to Europe, and that the pilot was also offered citizenship.

The Russian security service did not provide further details on the matter, nor have Ukraine or Britain commented on the Russian announcement thus far.

The Russian Kinzhal missile is an air-launched ballistic missile, described by Moscow as hypersonic and capable of reaching very high speeds to evade maneuvering flight paths, making its tracking and interception difficult for air defenses.

Moscow accuses London of assisting Ukraine in launching operations deep within Russia, while London warns that Russian intelligence is trying to sow chaos throughout Europe to undermine democracy.

Source: Reuters