Russian Media: Two U.S. Military Aircraft Operate on the Same Day Near the Black Sea and Russian Border

Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, November 8 - According to a report by RIA Novosti on the 8th, flight data shows that a U.S. military patrol aircraft was active over the Black Sea that day, while another U.S. reconnaissance aircraft flew along the Russian border for more than 4 hours.

The report stated that a Boeing P-8A Poseidon took off from Varna, Bulgaria at 19:32 Moscow time, heading towards the Black Sea. As of 20:00, the aircraft was still flying over the waters of the Black Sea. This aircraft is primarily used for maritime patrol, electronic reconnaissance, and the detection and tracking of surface vessels and submarines. Bulgarian national television reported in late October that a similar aircraft had arrived in Varna to carry out patrol missions in the western Black Sea.

According to reports, another Bombardier "Artemis II" reconnaissance aircraft took off around 09:41 from the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in southeastern Romania, flying north, circling around Russia's Kaliningrad region, and then flying north along the border between the Baltic states and Russia towards Estonia. As of 17:50, the aircraft had been flying around the Russian border for more than 4 hours, after which it circled back around Kaliningrad and returned to base. This aircraft is converted from a business jet and is often used for radar reconnaissance flights around Kaliningrad and over the Black Sea along the Crimean Peninsula and southern Russia.

According to Russian media reports, NATO's activities near Russia's western border have been unprecedentedly active in recent years. The Russian side has repeatedly expressed concerns about NATO's military buildup in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that Russia is still willing to engage in dialogue with NATO on an equal basis, but the West should abandon its policy of militarizing the European continent.