A missile was released from a Russian aircraft near an unarmed RAF plane on patrol over the Black Sea, the defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace said the “potentially dangerous” incident happened on 29 September in international airspace, writes BBC.

Russia said it was the result of a “technical malfunction”.

UK patrols over the Black Sea were suspended but have now resumed and are escorted by a fighter jet following Russia’s response.

Mr Wallace told MPs the UK was not treating the incident as a “deliberate escalation” by Russia but said it was a “reminder of quite how dangerous things can be when you choose to use your fighters in the manner that the Russians have done over many periods of time”.

He was speaking in the Commons following his urgent trip to the US earlier this week where he discussed the security situation in Ukraine, including the threat of a nuclear attack, with his American counterpart.