According to leaked Pentagon documents, a British surveillance plane was on the verge of being shot down by a Russian fighter jet last year, prompting US authorities to spy on allies and rivals to figure out what went wrong. One of the leaked documents, according to The Washington Post, mentions a “near shoot-down of UK RJ,” a United Kingdom reconnaissance aircraft. RJ refers to the RC-135 reconnaissance planes. They are also known as “Rivet Joints.”
The UK RJ was nearly destroyed by a missile fired by a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter plane
According to accounts, the nearly-missed occurrence occurred on September 29, last year. The British plane was flying off the Crimean coast. The plane was a standard espionage plane designed to collect electronic signals. According to the information in the leaked dossier, the UK RJ was nearly destroyed by a missile fired by a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter plane. This is a serious leak. If Russia had shot down the British airliner, it would have drawn the US and its NATO allies into the Ukraine conflict.
It is crucial to note that the UK is already aware of this, as revealed by the country’s defence minister last year, but there is a discrepancy between what he said and what the released documents show. In October, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reported the incident to the British Parliament. He said that two Russian fighter jets had intercepted the RC-135 and were flying “recklessly” at the moment. The point here is that Wallace failed to report that the conflict nearly resulted in a shootout. At the time, he simply stated that a Russian fighter had “launched a missile.” Wallace attributed the missile launch to a “technical failure.”
Another noteworthy revelation in the stolen Pentagon data from February was the depletion of Ukraine’s air defences, which may cause problems for the European country that has been fighting the war for almost a year. According to rumours, Ukraine’s air defences could run out of missiles and ammo within weeks. A “secret” document dated 23 February shows in detail how Ukraine’s S-300 air defence systems from the Soviet era will be depleted by 2 May if consumption continues at the current rate. However, it is unclear where Ukraine’s air defences are today or whether the usage rate has changed since then.
12 Ukrainian combat units were apparently being trained by US and NATO soldiers
Many classified documents containing “secret” information about US and NATO preparations to strengthen the Ukrainian army in advance of an impending Russian onslaught were published online. The Biden administration began an investigation into the documents. However, according to sources, they have already made their way around on Twitter and Telegram, raising serious concerns about security breaches. “We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter,” Sabrina Singh, the deputy press secretary at the Pentagon told the Times.
According to the other aspects of the supposed Pentagon leak, nine of the 12 Ukrainian combat units were apparently being trained by US and NATO soldiers. According to the leaked documents, repelling the Russian army will require 250 tanks and more than 350 mechanised vehicles. Meanwhile, as the war drags on, Moscow has stated that it is ready for a cease-fire in Ukraine at any time, but that the option is “unrealistic” if Kyiv and the West insist on Russia’s military defeat.