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Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian fighter jets did not use weapons against or attack downed US drones after encountering them in the Black Sea.
The ministry said the drone flew near the Russian border and entered the territory declared by the Russian authorities. He said the Russian military had scrambled its fighters to intercept the drone, which it claimed crashed into the water after a sharp maneuver.
The US has said that one of its fighter jets hit the drone’s propeller, after US forces deliberately downed the plane.
This update is broken. An earlier version of this story can be read below
A Russian fighter jet on Tuesday was struck by the propeller of a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea, prompting American forces to shoot down an unmanned aerial vehicle in international waters, the US military said, an incident that highlighted soaring US-Russian tensions over Moscow’s war. in Ukraine.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said US President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident by national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Tuesday’s incident appears to mark the first time since the Cold War that a US plane has been downed by Russian fighter jets.
The US European Command said in a statement that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets “conducted an unsafe and unprofessional interception” of a US MQ-9 drone operating in international airspace over the Black Sea.
It said one of the Russian fighters “hit the MQ-9’s propeller, causing US forces to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters.”
The statement said that several times before the collision, the Su-27 dumped fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9 with “recklessness, environmental disrespect and unprofessionalism.”
“This incident shows a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” he said.
Drones perform ‘routine’ operations
U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said the MQ-9 was “conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in the crash and complete loss of the MQ-9.”
He said that, “in fact, this unsafe and unprofessional action by Russia almost caused both planes to crash.”
There was no immediate reaction from Moscow, which has repeatedly expressed concern over US intelligence flights near the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The Kremlin says that by supplying weapons to Ukraine and sharing intelligence with Kyiv, the US and its allies are effectively participating in the conflict.
Kirby stressed that the incident will not prevent the US from continuing its mission in the region.
“If the message wants to prevent or prevent us from flying and operating in international airspace, over the Black Sea, that message will fail,” Kirby said. “That’s not going to happen.”
“We will continue to fly and operate in international airspace over international waters,” he said. “The Black Sea does not have a single nation.”
Harmful behavior patterns
US European Command noted that Tuesday’s incident followed a pattern of dangerous behavior by Russian pilots when interacting with US and Allied aircraft in international airspace, including over the Black Sea.
“This aggressive action by the Russian aircrew is dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation,” he said.
General David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, said that this collision is of greatest concern, both in Europe and the Pacific region.
“Probably the biggest concern there and in the Pacific is a pilot or captain of an aggressive Russian or Chinese ship, or someone very close, not knowing where they are, and causing a collision,” Berger said, in response to a question. at the National Press Club event on Friday.
He said the incident was intentional or not, forcing the country’s leaders to try to deal with it quickly from a distance.
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