Russia threatened to shoot down French aircraft

According to the Minister of Defence of France, during the flight of the French aircraft early informing (AWACS) E-3 Sentry on the Black Sea (in an global region where there is freedom of flight and navigation), Russian air traffic control threatened to shoot down the aircraft. The French pilot immediately turned around and left the flight zone. Importantly, the mission was carried out within NATO, to identify Russian forces in east Ukraine and Crimea.