Russia’s Armed Forces have carried out a retaliatory strike in response to what Moscow described as a provocation by Kiev involving a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported.

According to the agency, the overnight attack from November 9 to 10 saw the Russian Aerospace Forces launch Kinzhal hypersonic missiles targeting the main radio intelligence center of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) in the city of Brovary, Kiev Region, as well as the Starokonstantinov airfield in the Khmelnitsky Region, where F-16 aircraft are stationed.

The FSB stated that Kiev’s attempted provocation could have led to highly dangerous consequences, noting that Ukrainian intelligence had planned to shoot down the MiG-31 over the territory of a NATO member state.

On November 11, the FSB announced it had thwarted a joint operation organized by Ukrainian and British intelligence services. Investigators said that Ukrainian operatives had attempted to recruit Russian pilots, offering up to three million dollars and Western citizenship. One of the navigators was allegedly instructed to sedate or eliminate the pilot if the hijacking went ahead.

According to the service, after seizing the jet, the adversary planned to direct it toward the Romanian city of Constanța, where NATO air defense systems would have intercepted it — a move that, according to Moscow, could have sparked a major international incident.