Watch: RAF patrol intercepted by Russian jet fighters in Black Sea

Royal Air Force aircraft have encountered fighter jets near the state border of Russia in the latest instance of Russian and Western aircraft intercepting one another.

This latest incident, which took place on Monday, involved aircraft from Russia shadowing an RAF patrol flying over the Black Sea.

No RAF aircraft entered Russia's sovereign airspace during the mission.

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A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said: "An RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft and its two Typhoon escorts carried out a routine operation in international airspace over the Black Sea on Monday 26 June 2023.

"The aircraft and their crews operated in a safe and professional manner throughout.

"At all times, the patrol flew in international airspace and at no time did it enter Russian airspace."

Russia's ministry of defence said that RAF aircraft did approach the state border over the Black Sea.

It also stated that Su-27 fighter jets were scrambled to identify the RC-135 and Typhoon multirole aircraft.

A statement said: "There was no violation of the state border of the Russian Federation."

This is the latest incident involving Nato or UK aircraft interacting with Russian fighters. Twenty one incidents have occurred in the last month.

The RAF said that in the last three weeks, its crews have been especially busy, intercepting multiple Russian military aircraft.