A Russian fighter jet nearly shot down a British spy plane last year. The near-miss was more dangerous than previously portrayed, particularly given the potential ramifications of a hypothetical Russian strike against a NATO member.

As The Washington Post reports, referring to a leaked Pentagon paper circulating on social media, a Russian fighter jet came dangerously close to shooting down an unarmed British spy plane over the Black Sea last year.

On 29 September, the near-miss happened when the British surveillance jet flew off the Crimean coast.

Ben Wallace, UK Defence Secretary, briefed the House of Commons about the incident in October, saying two Russian Su-27 fighter jets had intercepted the RC-135 in international airspace over the Black Sea, flying "recklessly," with one plane coming within 15 feet of the British aircraft (5 meters).

According to him, one of the Russian jets "released a missile" at a distance, but he did not call the occurrence a near-missile launch and termed the missile firing as a "technical malfunction." He talked about it with high-ranking Russian officials from the Ministry of Defence.

The incident highlights the balancing act that Western military officials have sought to maintain as they attempt to aid the Ukrainian military and collect information about the war without being drawn directly into conflict with Moscow. Russian officials have sought to portray NATO nations as aggressors, while the United States and its allies have said they are supporting Ukraine but are not at war with Russia.

Under NATO's treaty, if a member of the military alliance is a victim of an armed attack, all members of the alliance will consider it an attack and collectively respond.

US defence officials declined to comment about the contents of the leaked document, as they have with other information in the trove that was found on apps including Discord, Telegram, and Twitter. An official with the British Embassy in Washington also declined to comment, and the Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

On March 14, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet damaged a US MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance and attack drone while trying to intercept it over the Black Sea (Ukr). The drone was forced down into the sea.

The White House called Russia's actions "dangerous, unprofessional, and reckless". Later, the US released video evidence (Ukr) that the Su-27's collision with the American drone was intentional.