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Russia forces British aircraft out of its airspace amid claims of 'violation'
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday (August 15), an RC-135 reconnaissance plane of the British Royal Air Force illegally crossed Russia's state border in the Arctic area of Cape Svyatoy Nos.
The ministry said, the British aircraft was discovered over the waters of the Barents Sea, and a MiG-31BM fighter scrambled in response and forced the plane out of the Russian territory.
This comes as a Russian separatist court in Donetsk has charged five foreign nationals with being mercenaries, with one British man possibly facing the death penalty, according to the Express.
Two other UK nationals, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill, were also among those charged, it said.
Donetsk separatist court charges 5 foreigners as mercenaries, says 3 face death penalty
However, Mr Harding is the only Brit to face a death sentence, alongside Vjekoslav Prebeg, from Croatia, and Swedish citizen Mathias Gustafsson after being captured in Mariupol.
It was rare for military planes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to breach Russia's airspace, news reports said, according to the Xinhua.
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