Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday that it had uncovered and thwarted a "large-scale provocation" an alleged plot by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and its "British supervisors" to hijack a Russian military jet carrying a hypersonic missile.
The target was a Russian MiG-31 high-altitude supersonic fighter jet equipped with the Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched missile.
The FSB accused Kyiv of attempting to "recruit Russian pilots" by offering them $3 million and citizenship in a Western country.
The plan was reportedly for the pilot to fly the aircraft towards a NATO base in Constanta, Romania, on the Black Sea, where the FSB claimed the plane would have been "shot down" by air defenses.
State media published an FSB video showing a Russian soldier, whose face was concealed, stating he had received an email from a Ukrainian intelligence agent attempting recruitment for the plot.
In response to the alleged plot, the FSB stated that Russian forces conducted strikes, hitting a Ukrainian military intelligence center and an airfield in the Kyiv and Khmelnitsky regions.
Russia frequently accuses Ukraine and its allies of sabotage operations on Russian soil, often without providing independent verification. This comes after a notable defection in August 2023, where a Russian Mi-8 helicopter pilot, Maxim Kuzminov, flew into Ukraine. Kuzminov was later found dead in Spain in February 2024.
Comment
