AIR FRIGHT
Moment RAF Typhoons are intercepted by Russian fighter planes in mid-air standoff near Black Sea border
RUSSIAN air forces scrambled to intercept three British jets over the Black Sea, Russia's defence ministry claimed.
Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted two RAF Typhoons and one RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft as they approached the Russian border on Monday.
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A video released by the Russian foreign ministry shows a plane with "Royal Air Force" painted on the side.
Russia's ministry said in a statement: "As the Russian fighter jets approached, the foreign warplanes turned around and distanced themselves from the Russian border.
"The Russian planes safely returned to their airfield. There was no violation of the Russian border."
The incident comes less than a week after the Royal Air Force scrambled to follow a Russian aircraft flying near NATO airspace.
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RAF Typhoons currently based in Estonia were sent up to meet a Russian Navy Tupolev Tu-134 and two Sukhoi Su-27 flankers.
The RAF shared photos on Twitter of the Typhoons making the interception, flying along-side the larger Tu-134 with "Baltic Fleet" written on the side.
The Russian aircraft "failed to comply with international norms by not liaising with regional airspace control", the tweet read.
Tensions remain high in Russia following the biggest challenge to Putin's iron fist rule since he took power - as Wagner thugs attempted a coup.
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Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin led an armed rebellion with the stated aim to oust Russia's military leaders as he turned on the top brass in Moscow.
Within hours of a 400-vehicle convoy rolling onto Russian soil from Ukraine, Wagner troops seized control of Russia’s regional military HQ in Rostov-on-Don.
Prigozhin bragged his men — believed to be better equipped than the Russian army — did not need to fire a single shot as they took control of the HQ.
But then in an astonishing turnaround with his forces some 120 miles from Moscow, Prigozhin claimed he was ready to back down.
In an audio message to his troops, he ordered them to return to their bases to "avoid bloodshed".
“We’re turning around our convoys and going in the opposite direction," he said in a voice message published by his Concord Firm Telegram channel.
Prigozhin's forces have now pulled out of the Rostov region and Russia's military HQ in a dramatic u-turn.
Footage also showed the Wagner warlord leaving in the back of a black car as people waved and cheered the exiled leader.
It comes after Putin's pal Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko claimed he had brokered a deal with the Wagner Group.
Prigozhin is expected to move to Belarus to live in exile following the stab in the back to his former ally Putin.
In a pre-recorded address tonight, Putin vowed to bring Wagner chiefs to justice and blasted them for staging a "miscalculated mutiny".
"The country was united against this armed mutiny," Putin said in the Monday night address. "The organisers of the mutiny were betraying their country."
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";The organisers of this rebellion cannot but understand that they will be brought to justice," he continued.
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