Revealing a "collision" between Russia and Britain, directive from the Pentagon related to Crimea?

Vụ rò rỉ tài liệu mật của Mỹ: Hé lộ một 'va chạm' giữa Nga-Anh, chỉ thị từ Lầu Năm Góc liên quan Crimea? (Nguồn: Twitter)

RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. (Source: Twitter)

A Russian fighter jet "nearly shot down" a British reconnaissance plane last year, the Washington Post reported, according to the document.

This incident is believed to be more serious than what has been revealed, and can be seen as the direct cause of dragging the US and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into the conflict in Ukraine.

The incident occurred on September 29, 2022 off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula, an area that Russia has controlled since 2014 and uses as a base for its Black Sea naval fleet and a staging ground for operations against other areas in Ukraine.

The secret document refers to the incident as a “near miss of a UK RJ,” referring to the “Rivet Joint” nickname for the RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, which was used to collect radio transmissions and other electronic information.

In October 2022, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace revealed the incident to the House of Commons, saying that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets approached and intercepted the RC-135 in international airspace over the Black Sea.

At the time, Mr. Wallace said that one of the Russian planes had “launched a missile” at a distance, but did not describe it as a near-miss but as a “technical failure.” Mr. Wallace also spoke with Russian defense officials about the incident.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly expressed concern about the situation in the Black Sea due to the constant provocative actions of the US and NATO.

According to this document, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is said to have ordered US Air Force pilots not to fly near the Crimean peninsula.

Among the leaked secret documents is a map of the Black Sea showing areas where US spy drones can fly. Their boundaries are about 12 miles from the Crimean coast “in accordance with international law.”

Another line on the map, drawn 80.4 km from the peninsula, is marked with the words "SECDEF Directed Standoff". According to the Washington Post, it indicates that the head of the Pentagon ordered US Air Force pilots to "maintain aircraft away" from Crimea.

US defense officials and the British embassy in Washington declined to comment on the contents of the leaked documents, while the Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Regarding the leak of this classified document, on April 9, the US Department of Defense announced that the country is implementing an interagency operation to assess its impact on US national security, as well as on allies and partners.

"The Department of Defense continues to review and assess the validity of photographed documents circulating on social media sites that may contain classified and sensitive content," the ministry said in a statement.

The US Justice Department previously said it had begun investigating the leak of classified military documents but "declined to comment further".