Russia Says It Foiled Ukraine-UK Plot To Hijack MiG-31 Fighter Jet Armed With Kinzhal Missile

Last Updated:November 12, 2025, 17:15 IST

Russia's FSB claims it foiled a Ukraine and UK intelligence plot to hijack a MiG-31 with Kinzhal missile and fly it to Romania, aiming to provoke NATO

The FSB described the alleged attempt as a "major provocation" that was neutralised before it could be executed. (Representational Image: AP)

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has alleged that it thwarted a dramatic espionage plot orchestrated jointly by Ukraine’s defence ministry and UK intelligence to hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet armed with the lethal Kinzhal hypersonic missile. The agency claimed the plan, if successful, could have sparked a major international incident.

According to a report by The Moscow Times, the FSB stated that Ukrainian operatives, under UK’s supervision, had devised a scheme to lure Russian pilots into defecting. The pilots were allegedly offered up to $3 million and citizenship in a Western country in exchange for flying the MiG-31 across the border to Romania.

The plan, as described by Russian officials, involved the fighter jet being intercepted or “shot down" near the Romanian border by NATO air defence systems, after which it would be seized at a military base in Constanța, Romania. Moscow claims this was intended to falsely implicate Russia in a violation of NATO airspace and escalate tensions.

Russian state media released a video purportedly showing a masked soldier who claimed he had been approached by Ukrainian agents through email to participate in the operation. The FSB described the alleged attempt as a “major provocation" that was neutralised before it could be executed.

In retaliation, Russian forces reportedly targeted Ukrainian military intelligence centres and airfields in the Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi regions.

The revelation draws parallels to a similar case in August 2023, when Russian helicopter pilot Maksim Kuzminov defected to Ukraine. His defection resulted in the death of his unsuspecting crew members, and his body was later discovered in Spain in February 2024, a killing believed by Russian officials to be linked to the same covert network.

The FSB maintains that the thwarted plan underscores an ongoing Western-backed effort to compromise Russia’s air power, particularly aircraft equipped with the Kinzhal missile, a system Moscow touts as one of its most advanced and decisive weapons in the ongoing war with Ukraine.

News world Russia Says It Foiled Ukraine-UK Plot To Hijack MiG-31 Fighter Jet Armed With Kinzhal Missile

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