FSB Foils Plot to Hijack Russian Fighter Jet, Ukraine and UK Accused of Provocation

Russian state news has reported that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted plans by Ukrainian military intelligence to hijack a Kinzhal-armed MiG-31 fighter jet. According to TASS, the Ukrainians were offering Russian pilots $3 million to fly the aircraft to NATO’s largest airbase in Constanta, Romania. The FSB claims to have uncovered and foiled the operation, which involved fabricating an escalation in Russian aggression. Vitaly Kuzmin via Wikimedia Photos and recordings of a man working for London and Kyiv who offered money to a Russian pilot were shown on state television. AeroTime reports that the claim comes as it approaches four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.