Leaked documents reveal Russia nearly shot down a British spy plane

A Russian pilot came dangerously close to shooting down an unarmed British reconnaissance plane in the skies over Ukraine last year according to recently leaked U.S. military documents.

The incident took place in September and the British Defense Minister Ben Wallace spoke about the encounter in October, referring to it as a dangerous accident. 

"We don't consider this a deliberate escalation by the Russians, our analysis would concur it was a malfunction," Wallace told parliament according to a Reuters report. 

"However, it is a reminder of how dangerous things can be when you choose to use your fighters in the manner that the Russians have done over many periods of time," Wallace added. 

According to The Washington Post, Wallace explained that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted a British RC-135 reconnaissance plane over international airspace above the Black Sea. 

One plane allegedly flew recklessly coming within 15 feet of the British spy plane and at some point, according to Wallace’s account, one of the Russian jets “released a missile” as a result of a “technical malfunction,” an account that downplayed the situation. 

Recently leaked documents showed that Wallace's comments vastly understated the nature of the encounter, which American officials classified as a “near-shoot down of a UK RJ,” the codename for Britain’s RC-135 reconnaissance plane according to The Washington Post. 

“The incident highlights the balancing act that Western military officials have sought to maintain as they attempt to aid the Ukrainian military and collect information about the war without being drawn directly into conflict with Moscow,” The Washington Post wrote. 

“Russian officials have sought to portray NATO nations as aggressors, while the United States and its allies have said they are supporting Ukraine but are not at war with Russia,” The Washington Post added. 

Several media outlets reported that the incident could have led to a larger war, citing Article 5 of NATO’s treaty, which dictates that if any one member state is attacked then the alliance's other member states must come to the attacking country’s defense. 

The wording of Article 5 would certainly allow for the downing of an allied plane over the Black Sea to lead to the invocation of NATO’s protective defense clause since the clause states that any armed attack in “Europe or North America” is considered an attack against all. 

Both U.S. and British defense officials refused to comment on the story according to The Washington Post, but it hasn’t been the first time NATO-aligned aircraft have almost been downed by Russia over the Black Sea according to the leaked documents. 

In December, an RC-135 being escorted by two British Typhoon fighter jets was intercepted by Russian jets that came within 100 feet of the aircraft according to The Washington Post’s reporting. 

In March, two Russian Su-27 fighter jets downed an American M-Q9 Reaper drone, the video footage of which was widely reported for the absurd nature of the situation that showed a flyby dumping jet fuel on the drone according to the New York Times. 

The documents detailing the near shootdown incident were part of a larger leak of information that has been making the rounds online, revealing the precarious situation Ukraine and its allies are facing. 

On April 9th, the U.S. The Department of Defense said it was investigating the source of the leak and that it had referred the matter to the Department of Justice according to The Hill.