Russian forces threatened to shoot down French flights patrolling final month in worldwide airspace over the Black Sea, indicators of a “particularly aggressive” posture from Moscow as its invasion of Ukraine struggles to make headway, France’s protection minister stated Thursday.

The minister, Sébastien Lecornu, didn’t give particular particulars in regards to the French flights or plane concerned within the threatened shootdown. But he stated Russia was returning to a “particularly aggressive” posture harking back to the previous Soviet Union’s conduct through the Cold War.

“A month ago, to give you a very concrete example, a Russian air traffic control system threatened to shoot down French aircraft in the Black Sea when we were in a free international zone where we patrol,” he said on RTL radio.

“The behavior of Russia in 2024 bears no relation to what we saw in 2022 and, obviously, before the aggression in Ukraine,” the minister stated. “It is defined by the truth that Russia is in problem on the battlefield in Ukraine.”