US plane spotted flying near Crimea

A US Navy maritime patrol aircraft was spotted flying close to Russia's borders in the Crimean peninsula.

The plane, a Boeing P-8A Poseidon was spotted by Mil Radar, an enthusiast service monitoring US Air Force and Navy aviation operations around the world, on January 7. 

According to the service, the plane's transponder showed the P-8A departing from the US military base at Sigonella, Sicily and making its way to the Crimean coast, where it made several loops near Chornomorske and Sevastopol, the latter being the home base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The aircraft then proceeded east toward the Russian mainland and off the cities of Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik, from where it turned around and headed back and out to sea, Sputnik reported.