INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it had scrambled a fighter jet to "prevent a violation of the Russian state border" by three
French aircraft over the Black Sea.Such incidents have regularly occurred, even before Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in 2022."To
prevent a violation of the Russian state border, a Su-27 fighter aircraft was raised into the air," Russia's Defense Ministry said.The crew
identified an "E-3F long-range radar aircraft and two Rafale-S multirole fighters belonging to the French air force" over the Black Sea.As
the Russian fighters approached, "the foreign military aircraft performed a U-turn away from the borders of the Russian Federation," it
added.There was no recorded breach of the border, according to the ministry statement.This is the latest in a string of similar incidents
over the Black Sea.In March 2023 tensions grew between Moscow and Washington when a U.S
Reaper drone crashed after colliding with a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea.
