Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that Ukrainian and British intelligence agencies foiled an attempt to hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet carrying the Kinzhal hypersonic missile as a provocation against NATO.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the FSB said, “Ukrainian military intelligence officers attempted to recruit Russian pilots to hijack the fighter jet, promising them a payment of $3 million.”<\/p>\n
According to the FSB’s claim, the plan was to divert the aircraft after its hijacking to the area of NATO’s largest air base in Southeastern Europe, located in Constan\u021ba, Romania.<\/p>\n
The service reported that the objective was for the aircraft to be shot down by air defense systems there.<\/p>\n
“The measures taken have foiled the plans of Ukrainian and British intelligence to carry out a large-scale provocation,” the statement read.<\/p>\n
Russian pilots reported the operation to their command<\/strong><\/p>\n In a video released by the FSB, Ukrainian intelligence is seen contacting Russian pilots in 2024.<\/p>\n After the pilots reported the situation to their command, security units were contacted. Subsequently, Russian special services launched a controlled operation with the participation of a pilot-navigator.<\/p>\n The pilot explained that a person using the name “Aleksandr” contacted him and proposed that he poison the MiG-31 commander during a flight and hijack the aircraft.<\/p>\n Messages, money, and audio recordings were released<\/strong><\/p>\n As part of the operation, the FSB also shared messages sent to the pilot-navigator. Among these was a video showing a bag full of money and a note that read, “Come, we are waiting for you.”<\/p>\n In other published correspondence, a person using the alias “Leon” is seen trying to persuade the pilot to accept the proposed plan.<\/p>\n The FSB also released an audio recording allegedly belonging to a pilot from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.<\/p>\n In the recording, this individual is heard giving instructions on how to control the aircraft, perform maneuvers, and execute a landing.<\/p>\n The target base is set to become the largest in Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n Near the city and port of Constan\u021ba, Romania, is the Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Air Base, where US soldiers also serve.<\/p>\n Expansion work on the base began in 2024.<\/p>\n When the project is completed, the base will become the largest in Europe, with the capacity to host 10,000 military personnel.<\/p>\n The project, which will cover a total area of 2,800 hectares, has a declared cost of 2.5 billion euros.<\/p>\n The project includes the construction of runways, weapons platforms, and hangars for military aircraft, as well as schools, kindergartens, shops, and a hospital.<\/p>\n The first phase of construction is expected to be completed within five years, with the base planned to be fully operational by 2040.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that Ukrainian and British intelligence agencies foiled an attempt to hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet carrying the Kinzhal hypersonic missile as a provocation against NATO. In a statement, the FSB said, “Ukrainian military intelligence officers attempted to recruit Russian pilots to hijack the fighter jet, promising them a payment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[14194,14199,8519,2862,14198,14197,14196,14200,207,1940,683,822,14195,729],"class_list":["post-12146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russia","tag-british-intelligence","tag-constanta","tag-espionage","tag-fsb","tag-hijacking-plot","tag-kinzhal-hypersonic-missile","tag-mig-31","tag-mihail-kogalniceanu-air-base","tag-nato","tag-romania","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian-military-intelligence","tag-united-kingdom"],"yoast_head":"\n