Russia and the US engaged in a war of words after a US drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) crash-landed near the Black Sea on Tuesday, March 14th. The US accused Russia of breaching international law and shooting down the drone unprovoked. Russia, on the other hand, accused the US of violating Russia’s international airspace.
Through a communique, the Russian Defence Ministry said that the Russian airspace control systems had detected a US MQ 9 reaper drone flying over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula. Accusing the US drone of violating the international boundary, the defence ministry said that the Russian fighter jets neither used weapons against it nor came into contact with it.
TASS reported that the Russian Defence Ministry also mentioned a proximate cause of the crashing of the US drone. As per the news portal, the defence ministry said that the US drone lost its control upon making a quick manoeuvring and subsequently collided with the water’s surface.
The US MQ 9 reaper is generally used for the purpose of “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance” (ISR) and destroying enemy targets. In the wake of the US drone crash, Washington DC reportedly summoned the Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov and lodged a formal complaint.
During a press brief, Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder and Mara Karlin blamed the Russian Air Force for using two Sukhoi Su 27 fighter jets to intercept the US drone over the Black Sea in an unsafe and unprofessional manner. The Pentagon also accused the Russian fighter jets of dumping fuel on the US drone, deliberately colliding with it and forcing it to crash land.
Furthermore, the brigadier general duo averred that the US Air Force wouldn’t be constrained to cease the action of reconnaissance after the incident and vowed to continue the operation in international airspace. Besides, they said to call on the Russian officials apropos of urging them to conduct themselves professionally and safely.
Later, Antonov slammed the US action of flying the drone in close proximity to Russian borders. Labelling the US conduct unacceptable, Antonov alleged that the US drones are used in this region for the purpose of reconnaissance, gathering data sensitive and supplying it to Ukraine for a future attack on Russian territory and troops in the background of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, TASS reported.
Pointing out the US’s $33bn military aid to Ukraine, Antonov accused the US of leading the situation to a deliberate escalation fraught with a direct armed conflict. However, he didn’t respond to any questions vis a vis whether Russian Air Force intercepted the US drone or not.
