Washington (EFE)
The US European command specified that the Russian fighter, an Su-27, hit the propeller of its MQ-9 several times before that collision and that the Russian planes had thrown fuel and flown in front of the drone “recklessly ”.
Russia denied any contact between the ships. According to his version, released in a military statement, “as a result of a sudden maneuver, around 09:30 Moscow time (06:30 GMT), the MQ-9 unmanned aircraft entered into an uncontrolled flight with loss of altitude and collided with the surface of the water.
The United States reported that an “unsafe” and “unprofessional” maneuver by two Russian fighters forced them to shoot down an American drone that was operating over the Black Sea.
The event took place around 07:03 in the morning local time (06:03 GMT) and according to the European command of the United States, its drone was carrying out a routine operation when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian fighter, which led to the US forces to shoot it down in international waters.
General James Hecker, commander of the United States Air Force in Europe and Africa, made it clear that the United States and its allies “will continue to operate in international airspace” and called on the Russians to act “professionally and safely.”
Russia says Moscow does not want confrontation
The Russian ambassador in Washington, Anatoli Antonov, has assured that his country “is not interested in confrontation”, after being summoned to the State Department for the incident.
In recent times, “contacts with colleagues from the State Department refer only to protests and negative signals towards the Russian Federation,” Antonov told the press as he left the headquarters of US diplomacy.
“The Russian side is interested in pragmatic relations with the United States, in the interests of both nations,” he added.
According to the diplomat, the “most important thing, I think, is that US planes and ships have nothing to do next to the borders of the Federation”, to add: “Can you imagine that a plane, a (Russian) drone like Does that appear near New York or San Francisco? Can you imagine what the reaction of the US media or the Pentagon would be to that drone? “.
For its part, the Russian military command assured in a statement that the MQ-9 violated the border of the airspace used provisionally by Russia in the framework of its “special military operation” in Ukraine and for this reason, Russian aviation was seen forced to send their fighters “in order to identify the offender.”
The US has already replaced the drone shot down in the Black Sea, according to kyiv
The US drone that Washington was forced to shoot down in the Black Sea has already been replaced by another device, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Colonel Yuriy Ignat said on Wednesday.
“American aviation in the Black Sea is permanent. The Black Sea is not an internal sea of Russia,” Ignat said in statements to the joint news broadcast by Ukrainian television and reproduced by Ukrainska Pravda.
The military spokesman added that the United States “will evaluate the incident” but indicated that “another drone is already operating at the site of the downed scout.”
“The Black Sea is exploited by many countries, including NATO members such as Turkey and Romania. There is international airspace in which planes can fly freely, including scouts,” the Ukrainian spokesman stressed.
In his opinion, “it is clear what the (Russian) terrorist state is doing and with what inclinations… The United States will analyze the incident first and, obviously, will draw the appropriate conclusions. But the reaction of the United States was instantaneous: another UAV (drone) flew in its place and continues its work.