Russian Su-27 fighters were scrambled to intercept and accompany French Rafale and Mirage-2000 jets, as well as a French Air Force C-135 tanker aircraft as they flew over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

“Russian fighter crews identified the aerial targets as two tactical fighters – a Mirage-2000 and a Rafale, as well as a C-135 tanker of the French Air and Space Force, and escorted them over the Black Sea. After the foreign military aircraft turned away from the state border of the Russian Federation, the Russian fighters safely returned to their home base. A violation of the state border was not allowed to take place,” the ministry said in a statement.

The fighters were scrambled after Russian radars picked up on multiple aerial targets approaching the state borders.