Kathrine Frich
These encounters often become information battles, with each side releasing its own version of events to influence global opinion.
Tensions in the skies over the Black Sea have increased throughout the war, as military aircraft from NATO states continue patrols in international airspace while Moscow attempts to frame routine operations as provocations.
Russia has now issued a fresh accusation involving a British aircraft, prompting renewed concerns over miscalculations in one of the most volatile regions of the conflict.
Civilian plane changed altitude
Russian state linked outlets alleged that an RAF Boeing RC-135 flying over the Black Sea forced a Pobeda Airlines passenger flight travelling from Istanbul to Moscow to climb by around 1,000 feet.
The reports described the British aircraft as a “spy plane” and claimed it had violated airspace rules by entering a sector managed by Russian air controllers.
SHOT, a pro-Kremlin channel, said the civilian jet took evasive action after “crossing paths” with the RAF aircraft.
Another outlet stated that the British jet had been “conducting reconnaissance for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of international waters”.
However, international aviation rules do not require military aircraft to request permission from Russia when operating in international airspace.
Publicly available flight data also indicates that the two aircraft were already flying at safe separation distances of roughly 2,500 feet, contradicting claims of a dangerous encounter.
British jet tracked near Sochi
Russian media reported that the RC-135 flew toward international waters off Sochi, where President Vladimir Putin keeps an official residence, before returning to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.
Moscow characteristically framed the flight as aggressive surveillance, while NATO views such reconnaissance as routine monitoring of Russian military activity.
Political backdrop adds friction
The allegation emerged at a sensitive moment for Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials are under growing pressure from the Trump administration to accept a peace framework that would involve significant territorial concessions.
One Ukrainian source told Axios,
“It felt like the US was trying to sell us in different ways the Russian desire to take the whole of Donbas”.
Following visits to Moscow by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Kyiv says the latest draft proposal is “harsher”, with major unresolved questions about who would control contested zones and how future fighting would be prevented.
Sources: Daily Express, SHOT Telegram channel, AIF Russia; Axios.
