Moscow accuses Ukraine, UK of plotting to hijack Russian fighter jet

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has claimed to have foiled an operation by Ukraine’s military intelligence, allegedly backed by the United Kingdom, to hijack a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile in what it described as a planned provocation against NATO’s largest airbase.

The Public Relations Centre of the FSB reported the information to the state news agency TASS.

“The Federal Security Service has uncovered and foiled an operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry and its British handlers to hijack abroad a supersonic, high-altitude MiG-31 fighter jet of the Russian Air Force, which carries the Kinzhal hypersonic air missile,” the statement said.

According to the FSB, Ukrainian military intelligence officers had allegedly attempted to recruit Russian pilots for the mission, offering a payment of $3 million. The agency claimed that the plan was to fly the MiG-31 armed with a Kinzhal missile toward the area of NATO’s largest airbase in southeastern Europe, located in the Romanian city of Constanța, where the aircraft would then be shot down by air defence systems to create what Russia called a “large-scale provocation.”

“By the measures taken, the plans of the Ukrainian and British intelligence services to organise such a provocation have been thwarted,” the FSB said.

The airbase referenced by Russian authorities is the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base near Constanța, currently undergoing major expansion to become NATO’s largest military facility in Europe. Romanian television reported in March 2024 that construction work was underway in the village of Mihail Kogălniceanu to extend the existing base over several thousand hectares. The project, covering 2,800 hectares, includes expanded runways, hangars, and airfield infrastructure, as well as administrative and residential areas.

The completed complex is expected to accommodate thousands of US and NATO troops and their families, with housing, schools, kindergartens, shops, restaurants, a cinema, and a hospital. When fully operational — expected by 2040 — the base will host about 10,000 NATO service members along with support staff.

However, on October 29, the Romanian Defence Ministry announced that the United States plans to scale down the number of American troops stationed along NATO’s eastern flank, including at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base. According to the ministry, around 1,000 US military personnel will remain in Romania as part of Washington’s ongoing commitment to regional security.

By Tamilla Hasanova