Video captures Russian fighter jets flying metres away from British spy plane | ABC NEWS

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Unacceptable and dangerous. That's how the UK Ministry of Defense has described the actions of two Russian war jets that came scarily close to a British spy plane. This extraordinary vision was taken last month from a RAF Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft which was flying over the Black Sea when a Russian Su-35 fighter jet and then a Su-27 aircraft intercepted it. According to the British Secretary of Defense, Su-27 made six passes in front of the British plane and got within six meters. That was so close that an autopilot was disabled and the emergency systems were engaged. The Rivet carries out surveillance operations over the Black Sea aiding NATO operations there and trying to deter Russian aggression in the region. The British Secretary of Defense said that this incident is another example of dangerous and unacceptable behavior by Russian pilots and interestingly said that these actions create a serious risk of accidents and potential escalation. In a twist of irony, that vision was released on a day when the British government announced it was watering down sanctions imposed on third parties that are refining Russian crude oil. In other words, the British government is still imposing sanctions on Russian oil, but Russian crude oil that's being refined countries like Turkey that the UK is importing, well, they're delaying sanctions on that. That's due to the drop in supply on things like jet fuel.

[00:01:29]Now, the Ukrainian government says it understands the decision given global events, but is concerned that that would just generate more profits for Russia and funnel money into Moscow's war effort.

[00:01:58]>> Mhm.