Dramatic footage shows the moment the RAF escorted two Russian bombers intercepted off the north of the UK amid growing tension in the Ukraine.
Typhoons were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, to monitor the warplanes as fears continue to mount Vladimir Putin will invade the eastern European nation.
The incident took place yesterday, on the same day Boris Johnson warned the Kremlin leader that an attack on Ukraine would be a “tragic miscalculation”.
The two Russian Tu-95s were accompanied by two Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare planes when they were spotted north of Scotland on Tuesday.
The RAF confirmed it had ‘intercepted and escorted’ the four Russian ‘Bear’ aircraft in a UK ‘area of interest’ but the Russians did not enter UK airspace.
The Tu-95s had flown from Engels air base in Saratov region, with the Tu-142 flying from Kipelovo air base in Vologda region.
The RAF routinely intercepts aircraft approaching what it describes as the “UK area of interest” – international airspace for which the UK is responsible in certain ways, such as air traffic control services.
Before confirming the aircraft were Russian planes, a spokesperson for the RAF said yesterday: “Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighters from RAF Lossiemouth, supported by a Voyager Tanker from RAF Brize Norton, have been launched against unidentified aircraft approaching the UK area of interest.
“We will not be offering any additional detail on this ongoing operation until complete.”
“Subsequently we intercepted and escorted four Russian Bear aircraft,” a spokesperson said several hours later, once the operation was declared over.
Yesterday Mr Johnson warned Mr Putin the massing of as many as 100,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border represented a “clear and present danger”, and that invading Ukraine would be a “military disaster” for Moscow.
Accusing the Russian president of effectively “holding a gun ... to the head of Ukraine”, Mr Johnson said the UK would hit Moscow with sanctions the “moment the first Russian toecap crosses further into Ukrainian territory” – and that Kyiv would put up “a very fierce and bloody resistance”.
On Monday, the French military said that it had monitored two Russian ships, the Soobrazitelniy and the Stoykiy, and later handed over the responsibility to HMS Argyle, a Type 23 frigate, and the US Navy’s USS Roosevelt.
