Russia says thwarted Ukrainian, UK operation to hijack MiG-31 jet
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Russia's FSB says it thwarted a Ukrainian-British operation to hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet armed with a Kinzhal missile, allegedly involving Bellingcat as an intermediary.
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FSB headquarters, grey building at center, in downtown Moscow, Russia, on December 30, 2016. (AP)
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday that it had foiled an attempt by Ukrainian military intelligence, working in coordination with British handlers, to hijack a Russian MiG-31 supersonic fighter jet equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
In a statement, the agency said, "The Federal Security Service (FSB) has uncovered and thwarted an operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and its British handlers to hijack a Russian MiG-31 supersonic high-altitude fighter jet, which carries a Kinzhal hypersonic missile."
According to the FSB, Ukrainian intelligence operatives sought to recruit Russian pilots, offering a reward of $3 million in exchange for flying the aircraft to a NATO-aligned location, adding: "The [Ukrainian] intelligence service subsequently planned to send an aircraft armed with a Kinzhal missile to the deployment area of NATO's largest airbase in southeastern Europe, located in the city of Constanta in Romania, where it could have been shot down by air defense systems."
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An FSB officer revealed that Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group, played a role in the operation. The group is accused of acting as an intermediary in the recruitment effort. "When contacting the aircraft commander, intelligence used a journalistic organization called Bellingcat, which had already come under our radar," the officer told Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
Earlier in the day, the FSB reiterated that the attempted hijacking was part of a broader intelligence operation orchestrated by Ukraine and Western actors, particularly the UK.
FSB says foiled Ukrainian operation
The FSB announced on the same day last year that it had also thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian military intelligence to seize a Russian Aerospace Forces electronic warfare helicopter.
"The Federal Security Service has uncovered and thwarted an operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to hijack a Russian Aerospace Forces Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopter," the FSB said in a statement.
It also stated that Ukrainian military intelligence officers had tried to recruit a Russian pilot to hijack the aircraft and deliver it to territory controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to the FSB, the information gathered by Russian counterintelligence agents who disrupted Kiev's operation enabled the Russian military to effectively target Ukrainian air defense positions and the locations of Ukrainian Armed Forces units.
