France’s defence minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said the warning to French flights in international airspace over the Black Sea.
He did not give specific details about the aircraft involved in the incident that took place in January.
But the politician stressed that the ‘particularly aggressive’ posture is reminiscent of the former Soviet Union’s behavior during the Cold War.
He told RTL radio: ‘A month ago – to give you a very concrete example – a Russian air traffic control system threatened to shoot down French aircraft in the Black Sea when we were in a free international zone where we patrol.
‘The behavior of Russia in 2024 bears no relation to what we saw in 2022 and, obviously, before the aggression in Ukraine.
‘It is explained by the fact that Russia is in difficulty on the battlefield in Ukraine.’
French air force pilots regularly patrol on the eastern flank of Nato, part of efforts by the 31-nation military alliance to boost its defences since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago come Saturday.
French flights include long-range patrols by its AWACS surveillance aircraft.
They use radar and other surveillance gear to peer across the annexed Crimean Peninsula that was seized from Ukraine and annexed back in 2014.
The surveillance flights can spot missile launches, airborne bombing runs and other military activity in the Ukraine conflict.
Russian pilots have at times made clear that they don’t like being watched.
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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