British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday that a Russian aircraft released a missile near a British plane patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea.
Mr Wallace told MPs in Commons that on September 29 an unarmed "RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint" spy plane was flying in "international airspace over the Black Sea" when two Russian Su-27s "released a missile in the vicinity of the Rivet Joint beyond visual range."
The Defence Secretary told parliament Britain had suspended patrols following the "potentially dangerous" incident and expressed their concerns to Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Russia said it was a technical malfunction and Wallace said Britain has now resumed patrols.
"We don't consider this a deliberate escalation by the Russians, our analysis would concur it was a malfunction", he continued.
He added: "In my letter [to Mr Shoigu] I made clear the aircraft was unarmed, in international airspace, and following a pre-notified flight path.
"I felt it was prudent to suspend these patrols until a response was received by the Russian state.
"The reply by the Russian minister of defence on October 10 stated they have conducted an investigation into the circumstances of the incident and stated it was a technical malfunction.
"They also acknowledge that the incident took place in international airspace."
He explained that it is not unusual for aircraft to be shadowed, but during that interaction on the 29th, it transpired that one of the SU-27 aircraft released a missile which is unusual.
The total time of the interaction between the Russian aircraft and the Rivet Joint was approximately 90 minutes and once the patrol was completed, the aircraft returned to base.
Wallace said they are "incredibly lucky that it didn't become worse" and told MPs of a separate incident where a Russian fighter jet came within 15ft of a NATO aircraft.
The news comes as a Russian air strike hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine on Wednesday and caused “quite serious” damage, the region’s governor said on Thursday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was using energy and hunger as weapons of war.
“We will not let Moscow’s latest escalation go unanswered. Scorched earth tactics will not help Russia win the war. They will only strengthen the unity and resolve of Ukraine and its partners,” Scholz told the German parliament.
In response to the strikes, Ukraine will begin restricting electricity supplies across the country starting from 7 am today.
