A plot by Ukraine’s intelligence services to hijack a Russian Tu-22M3 nuclear-capable strategic bomber has been intercepted, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has said.
Kiev’s spies offered a Russian air force pilot money and Italian citizenship if he agreed to fly the aircraft to Ukraine, the agency said in a statement on Monday.
The involvement of special services of NATO countries in the failed hijacking was uncovered, the FSB said.
It did not name specific members of the US-led military bloc.
During the “operational game,” Russian counterintelligence officers were able to obtain information that helped the military to carry out a successful strike again the Ukrainian armed forces’ Ozernoye airfield, it added.
The facility is located near the city of Zhytomir in northwest Ukraine.
The FSB also published a video of the Russian pilot, who helped the agency with the operation.
His identity was concealed and voiced changed in the clip.
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