The Russian secret service revealed that it had discovered a plan in which enemies offered three million dollars to Russian pilots to take off and take fighter jets to NATO airspace, according to Russian state media.
The state broadcaster aired images of messages and recordings from a man they said worked for Ukrainian and British intelligence and had offered a Russian pilot $3 million to fly a MiG to Europe, as well as being offered citizenship.
The idea would be to take the aircraft to a military base in Romania. According to Russian state media, the planes were possibly shot down by Romanian air defenses.
Russia has considered Britain its main enemy for some time. Moscow accuses London of fomenting the war in Ukraine and British intelligence of helping Ukraine carry out a series of operations on Russian territory.
The United Kingdom considers Russia’s invasion of Ukraine an imperial-style territorial grab by Moscow. London has repeatedly warned that Russian intelligence is trying to sow chaos in the UK and Europe to undermine democracy.
