One of the pilots, who was subjected to a recruitment attempt, stated that a person named Sergey Lugovsky contacted him, requesting unofficial military consultations in exchange for direct financial rewards.
The Federal Security Service recalled that the “Bellingcat” platform and its former head, Christo Grozev, were previously involved in an attempt to hijack a Russian military plane in 2022.
Earlier today, on Tuesday, the Russian Federal Security Service announced that they thwarted a Ukrainian-British operation to hijack a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet capable of carrying hypersonic “Kinzhal” missiles.
The agency stated, “The Directorate of the Federal Security Service uncovered and foiled an operation planned by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and their British overseers to hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet belonging to the Russian Aerospace Forces, capable of carrying hypersonic ‘Kinzhal’ missiles.”
The targeted MiG-31 fighter pilot reported that Kyiv and the West attempted to recruit him to hijack the fighter carrying the “Kinzhal” missile in the fall of 2024.
