News Digest

'Provocative' act: Canadian warship 'buzzed' by Russian military jet

Russia has dismissed Canada’s complaint that three Russian military aircraft acted “provocatively” by flying near a Canadian navy frigate in the Black Sea. HMCS Toronto was taking part in Nato exercises off the southern coast of Ukraine at the weekend when two Russian Su-24 fighter jets and an AN-26 surveillance aircraft flew by. Canada’s Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said the aircraft circled the frigate. He said the jets posed no threat, but the move was “unnecessarily provocative and risk escalating tensions even further”.

The message that Canada is sending—along with the rest of our NATO allies—is that Russia’s reckless actions must stop.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson

Nicholson said Canada and its allies were taking part in reassurance measures as a result of Vladimir Putin’s “military aggression and invasion of Ukraine”. Russian ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told news agencies on Tuesday that its jets were indeed flying in the area—but were behaving “strictly in line with international rules”. Relations between Moscow and Ottawa have been strained by Canada’s decision to impose sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukrainian crisis.

The planes’ flight path passed through the area where the Canadian naval ship Toronto was, but without making an approach on the foreign military vessel.

Russian General-Major Igor Konashenkov