Russian jet 'shoots down' Georgian spy plane

Georgia today accused Russia of an “unprovoked act of aggression” after a Russian jet allegedly shot down an unmanned Georgian reconnaissance plane, Alexi Mostrous writes.

Officials in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, released video footage which they said showed a MiG-29 fighter launching a missile at the Georgian plane as it flew over the country’s breakaway Abkhazia region.

The allegation - dismissed as “nonsense” by Moscow - is likely to aggravate tensions between the countries, which are locked in a standoff over Georgia’s ambitions to join NATO and Moscow's support for Abkhaz separatists.

“The Government of Georgia strongly condemns the unprovoked act of aggression that took place on April 20, 2008,” the Georgian foreign ministry said in a statement. It summoned Russia’s ambassador to hand him a note of protest.

A spokesman for Russia’s air force said: “Nonsense. What would a Russian jet fighter be doing over Georgian territory?”

The video footage shows a jet aircraft banking to face the drone. A bright flash can be seen as a missile is launched and heads toward the drone.

A few seconds later the screen goes blank.

No identification markings are visible on the aircraft that fired the missile.

“A Russian MiG-29 fighter jet shot down an unarmed, unmanned air vehicle which was performing basic reconnaissance over Georgian territory,” Colonel David Nairashvili, commander of Georgia’s air force, told Reuters.

“It’s absolutely illegal for a Russian MiG-29 to be there,” he said.

“The MiG-29 has a distinctive twin-tail marking. It’s a Russian aircraft. Georgia does not possess it, nor do Abkhaz separatists.”

In Washington, a State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, said the United States was concerned by reports of the incident and was seeking information from the Russian Government.

Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast, is internationally recognised as part of Georgia. It has been controlled by Moscow-backed separatists since a war in the early 1990s.

Abkhazia’s separatist administration said on Sunday that its own forces had shot down the drone because it was violating Abkhaz air space and breaching ceasefire agreements.

Last week, Georgia accused Moscow of a de facto annexation of Abkhazia and a second breakaway Georgian region, South Ossetia, after President Putin ordered his Government to establish closer ties with the separatists.

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Mr T said:

I suppose the answer to the Russians' question over why one of their planes would be over Georgian territory is that Russia doesn't recognise Georgia's control of that area.

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Finn McCool said:

No. That would entail recognition of Abkhazia, which is something that the Russians don't want to do yet. They might either try to dispute where it happened or deny it happened all together. The Caucusus is a dangerous place.

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Pointblank said:

Looking at Russian media, they are trying to say that the Abkhazia's shot down the drone, and that they have no involvement (yeah right).

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Mr T said:

Does Abkhazia have an airforce, let alone Mig-29s? I don't think so. Are the Russian media really saying that? If so it rather demonstrates the hollow nature of the Kremlin's defence.

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Gollevainen said:

At least on that youtube video, there weren't two missiles fired but the same attack was played twice, as a recap.

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A Russian jet did shoot down an unmanned Georgian drone over the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia last month, UN monitors say.

The jet flew back into Russian airspace after the attack, a UN report says.

Russia has denied the charges - even though Georgia's defence ministry released video appearing to show a Russian MiG-29 shooting down the drone.

Tensions over Abkhazia have soared, with Georgia and Russia accusing each other of a military build-up. Moscow accuses Georgia of preparing to invade its breakaway region, where many residents hold Russian passports. Georgia says Russia is preparing to annex the region.

Georgia accused Moscow of an "act of international aggression" after the drone was shot down on 20 April. It released video, which it said was recorded by the drone itself, of a fighter plane approaching it and then launching a missile in its direction. The picture then went dead.

A Russian air force spokesman said the claim was "nonsense", while Abkhaz rebels said they had downed the drone. They have since claimed to have shot down several more.

But a report by UN monitors based in Abkhazia, released on Monday, said radar records showed the plane had flown into Russian airspace after the attack, and with no "compelling evidence to the contrary, this leads to the conclusion that the aircraft belonged to the Russian air force". Russia's defence ministry rejected the UN's findings.

However, the report also criticised Georgia for operating reconnaissance flights over Abkhazia, which it said breached the terms of the ceasefire deal that ended the Abkhaz war of the early 1990s.

On the same day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent greetings to Georgia on its independence day, and expressed a wish for "constructive co-operation between our countries".

"I sincerely wish peace and prosperity to the Georgian people, with which we have century-old ties of friendship and spiritual kinship," his message said.

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