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Russian military jets fly close to, disrupt British airspace

By JC Finley
A Russian Air Force Tu-95 "Bear" bomber. File Photo courtesy of Russian Air Force/UPI
A Russian Air Force Tu-95 "Bear" bomber. File Photo courtesy of Russian Air Force/UPI | License Photo

LONDON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Russian military jets were blamed for causing a "disruption to civil aviation" over U.K. airspace, Britain's defense ministry said.

"At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into U.K. sovereign airspace," the ministry said in its statement Thursday but noted that Royal Air Force jets were scrambled "throughout the time they were in the U.K. area of interest."

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While the incident occurred Wednesday in international airspace, the Russian Bear bomber planes' flight pattern was perceived as a provocation. The maneuvers were "part of an increasing pattern of out-of-area operations" by Russia," the ministry said.

There was some speculation about the timing of the provocation, coming a day after the Royal Courts of Justice in London opened a public inquiry into the suspicious death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

Litvinenko, who defected to Britain in 2000, was an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and died in 2006 after consuming a cup of tea that had been laced with radioactive polonium-210 during a meeting with two former Russian agents at the Millennium Hotel in London.

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Litvinenko blamed the Kremlin from his deathbed. His wife's lawyer has characterized Litvinenko's death as "an act of state-sponsored nuclear terrorism on the streets of London."

Wednesday's incident also followed British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond's admonishment of Russia, saying that it "will be judged by its actions, not words" after Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine launched a deadly attack on civilians in Mariupol.

"Flying any military aircraft in or close to the sovereign airspace of another country signals displeasure or at worst aggression," said Elizabeth Quintana, a senior research fellow with the Royal United Services Institute.

London has summoned Russia's ambassador to "account for the [Russian jet] incident."

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