MOSCOW: Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted three British military aircraft heading over the Black Sea towards the Russian border on Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

According to the ministry, the intercepted planes were an RC-135 reconnaissance and electronic warfare plane and two Typhoon fighter jets.

Russia says intercepted two US military jets over Baltic

"When approached by Russian fighters, the foreign military aircraft turned back from the state border of the Russian Federation," the ministry said.

"The Russian planes safely returned to their airfield. There was no violation of the Russian border," said the ministry.

Incidents involving Russian and Western aircraft have multiplied over the Black Sea and Baltic Sea in recent months, as Moscow pursues its offensive in Ukraine.

In May, Moscow said it had intercepted four American strategic bombers above the Baltic Sea in two separate incidents in the space of one week.

Russia also scrambled warplanes to intercept French, German, and Polish aircraft.

In April, an American Reaper MQ-9 military drone crashed in the Black Sea after a confrontation Washington blamed on two Russian fighter jets.