Russian state news has claimed that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted plans by Ukrainian military intelligence to hijack a Kinzhal-armed MiG-31 fighter jet.
According to TASS, the Ukrainians, aided by the British, were offering Russian pilots $3 million to fly a MiG-31 armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile to NATO’s largest airbase in Constanta, Romania.
On November 11, 2025, TASS reported that under the plan the MiG-31 would be shot down by air defenses to fabricate an escalation in Russian aggression.
“The Federal Security Service has uncovered and thwarted an operation by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate and its UK supervisors to hijack a Russian MiG-31 supersonic fighter jet, which is equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, and fly it abroad,” said the FSB according to TASS.
The statement added: “The measures taken have thwarted the plans of the Ukrainian and UK intelligence services to carry out a large-scale provocation.”
Photos and recordings of a man working for London and Kyiv who offered money to a Russian pilot were shown on state television, according to Reuters. The pilot was also offered citizenship.
The Kyiv Post added that the Russians accused investigative journalism group Bellingcat of being involved.
Additionally, it was claimed that Ukraine considered poisoning a MiG-31 commander so that the co-pilot could complete the mission and fly the fighter jet to Romania.
The claims come as it approaches four years since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The UK has been a leading supporter of Ukraine, and the country’s attempts to regain its territory lost to Russia.
In February 2024, A Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine when he landed a Mi-8 helicopter on Ukrainian territory was shot dead in Spain.
The plan to deliver the helicopter to Ukraine was reportedly constructed over a six-month period in which the pilot’s family were also secretly moved to Ukraine.
On August 23, 2024, the Russian pilot rerouted his Mi-8 AMTSh assault transport helicopter during a logistical flight between two airbases, transporting parts intended for Su-27 and Su-30SM fighter jets.
In July 2022, Russia’s Federal Security Service also claimed that it managed to thwart a Ukrainian military plot to bribe Russian pilots and convince them to defect to the other side.
According to Interfax, the FSB managed to intersect the plot, obtaining secret data that the Ukrainians allegedly attempted to share with the would-be defectors.
Ukrainian special service employees are reported to have offered Russian pilots up to $2 million, as well as guarantees that their families would be given citizenship in one of the Baltic states.
The FSB claimed the plot was operated by the Ukrainian government, “supported by Western security agencies, primarily the British ones”.
