Black Sea, 24 June

The Russian Ministry of Defense has responded to accusations made by Dutch forces about the allegedly dangerous actions of Russian planes near the Dutch frigate Evertsen that took place in the Black Sea. By means of objective control of the Black Sea Fleet over the actions of NATO ships in the Black Sea, it was established that the frigate Evertsen of the Netherlands Navy, which was in neutral waters, changed its course and began to move in the direction of the Kerch Strait on 24th June.

To prevent violations of the Russian Federation’s territorial waters, Su-30 fighters and Su-24 bombers were lifted into the air by service forces, which flew a safe distance near the Dutch Navy ship. But according to the news website Business Insider, the Dutch Ministry responsible for the armed forces of the Netherlands and Veterans Affairs wrote on the Twitter platform: “Armed Russian military jets caused a dangerous situation in the Black Sea near HNLMS Evertsen last Thursday. The aircraft repeatedly flew dangerously low over and close to the ship and carried out mock attacks. HNLMS Evertsen was is international waters during these harassments.”

In connection with the accusations made by the Dutch, the Russian authorities distributed a video in which the Russian planes surround the Dutch fleet several times from a sufficiently long distance. The Russians explained that after the fleet took the right course the crews of the Russian planes returned to their aerodromes. According to the Ministry of Defence of Russia, the flight operation of Russian aircraft was carried out in accordance with international standards for the use of airspace.