Unwittingly, the FSB’s narrative exposes a deeper Russian anxiety: that its own pilots might willingly defect to the West. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have foiled an alleged Ukrainian military intelligence plot, coordinated with what it described as “British handlers,” to hijack a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile. This marks the second time in three years that the FSB has accused the investigative outlet Bellingcat of involvement in a purported Ukrainian operation targeting Russian aircraft.
According to the FSB, officers from Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) tried to recruit Russian pilots, offering $3 million to steal the aircraft and fly it abroad. The agency asserted that the plan was to direct the MiG-31 toward NATO’s largest airbase in southeastern Europe – located in Constanța, Romania, where it could be “shot down by air defense systems,” triggering a major international incident.
Russian state media released purported footage of a man allegedly attempting to bribe a pilot, promising both money and European citizenship in exchange for cooperation. The operation, the FSB said, was due to take place on 4 November, before being “foiled” by Russian counterintelligence.
The Russian intelligence service further claimed that the “journalistic organization” Bellingcat was used as a cover by Ukrainian intelligence to collect information on the MiG-31, adding that the group was “controlled by British secret services.” According to the pilot he was approached in the autumn of 2024 by a man claiming to be a Bellingcat reporter who showed him press credentials and sought technical details about the aircraft for a supposed article, said a spokesperson for the Russian intelligence service on the television channel Rossiya-24.
Bellingcat – known internationally for its open-source investigations, including on the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was similarly named in a 2022 FSB case alleging that Ukrainian agents sought to recruit Russian pilots to hand over Su-24, Su-34 and Tu-22M3 aircraft. At that time, the FSB accused Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian journalist and former Bellingcat investigator, of involvement in espionage.
The Russian TASS agency quotes an FSB employee who recalled that, in 2022, “UK intelligence agent Christo Grozev participated in a similar Ukrainian operation to hijack a Su-34 jet that was also thwarted”. “He organized the transfer of money to Russia through accomplices for a Russian military pilot allegedly ready to work with Ukraine”, TASS writes.
Grozev was declared a “foreign agent” and placed on Russia’s wanted list in 2023 after receiving an Oscar for the documentary Navalny.
The Kinzhal missile, which the MiG-31 is designed to carry, is one of Russia’s most advanced air-launched ballistic weapons. Moscow says it can reach speeds of up to Mach 10 and follow complex trajectories to evade Western air defenses. The Kremlin has frequently showcased the system as a symbol of its military superiority and deterrent capability.
The FSB’s latest allegations have been met with open ridicule in Bucharest. Andrei Cernea, spokesperson for Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, compared the story to “Soviet spy novels.” Cernea wrote on X:
“Soviet spy novels were not particularly outstanding, as they were propaganda exercises. Similarly, today’s Russian news about spies is fictional. What is real is Russian aggression and Russian provocations, which these stories about planes and spies try to hide.”
Romanian officials have not confirmed any unusual activity in their airspace, though the Ministry of Defense recently reported that a Russian drone may have crashed in Tulcea County near the Ukrainian border on the night of 11 November. In September, Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense finalized a framework allowing for the shooting down of drones and military aircraft that violate national airspace.
The FSB’s version of events also echoes a broader Russian narrative portraying the United Kingdom as a principal adversary. Moscow routinely accuses London of fueling the war in Ukraine and supporting covert operations inside Russia. For its part, the U.K. government has repeatedly dismissed such claims, calling them disinformation meant to justify the Kremlin’s aggression.
Unwittingly, the FSB’s narrative exposes a deeper Russian anxiety: that its own pilots might willingly defect to the West. The fear is not hypothetical—a Russian MiG-29 pilot did exactly that in August 2023, flying his aircraft to Ukraine in a meticulously planned operation later detailed by Bellingcat.