According to White House spokesman John Kirby, the US State Department will discuss the incident directly with Moscow.
The United States intends to discuss with the Russian Federation, MQ-9 Reaper shot down in the Black Sea. This was stated by White House spokesman John Kirby, reports Reuters.
“The State Department will speak directly with its Russian counterparts and express our concerns about this unsafe and unprofessional interception,” he said.
In the same time a journalist The Baily Beast Shannon Vavra said she was aware that after the MQ-9 Reaper was shot down in the Black Sea, the State Department called the Russian ambassador for a serious conversation.
“The State Department will summon the Russian ambassador to its department to express ‘strong objections’ to Russia’s behavior,” she wrote.
Vavra also clarified that State Department spokesman Ned Price told her about this by phone.
MQ-9 Reaper shot down in the Black Sea: details
Before the MQ-9 Reaper was shot down in the Black Sea, Russian fighters demonstrated unsafe behavior, according to the website of the US Forces Command in Europe. Nevertheless, as stated by the commander of the US Air Force, General James Hecker, US UAVs and allied drones will continue to fly in international airspace.
“We urge Russians to behave professionally and safely,” he said.
The US military noted that at approximately 07:03, one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft hit the propeller of the UAV, causing US forces to sink the drone in international waters. On several occasions prior to the collision, Russian aircraft dumped fuel and flew in front of the drone in an “environmentally unsafe and unprofessional manner.”
MQ-9 Reaper was shot down in the Black Sea: the position of the Russian Federation
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation responded to the incident. They said that the flight of an American drone was allegedly recorded over the waters of the Crimea. Moreover, he allegedly moved in violation of the borders established for the war against Ukraine.
“In order to identify the intruder, fighters from the air defense forces on duty were lifted into the air. As a result of sharp maneuvering around 9.30 (Moscow time), the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into an uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface,” the source said. Russian department.
RosSMI also reported that the wreckage of the drone was probably picked up by the Russian military.
MQ-9 Reaper shot down in the Black Sea: what the Pentagon says
After the MQ-9 Reaper was shot down in the Black Sea, the Pentagon held briefingabout this incident. On it, the official representative of the law enforcement agency, Patrick Ryder, refused to clarify whether the UAV carried any weapons. He also did not voice whether the United States would raise the UAV and denied that such actions were carried out by the Russians.
Patrick Ryder about the drone that crashed in the Black Sea (watch from 18:00)
Recall that the American UAV MQ-9 Reaper was shot down in the Black Sea. It was previously reported that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with him.
