Article content

The Defence Department now says there was a low-level flight by a Russian plane over a Canadian frigate in the Black Sea but it can’t provide any details to back up the Conservative government’s contention that Russian warships confronted HMCS Fredericton.

NATO officials maintain there was no such confrontation and Russian warships stayed far away from the Canadian ship which was part of an alliance maritime task force.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or NATO officials contradict Jason Kenney's claim that Russian fighter jets flew over Canadian navy frigate Back to video

James Bezan, parliamentary secretary to Minister of National Defence Jason Kenney, told the Commons Tuesday that: “Since arriving in the Black Sea, Royal Canadian Navy sailors have been confronted by Russian warships and buzzed by Russian fighter jets.”

Kenney repeated the claim the next day, stating that a Russian jet buzzed the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton at low altitude.

The Ottawa Citizen asked the Department of National Defence on Wednesday for details of the incidents but DND couldn’t provide those and instead referred all questions to NATO.