US Defense Department spokesman Pet Ryder noted that although the actions of the Russian pilots were aggressive, the American side cannot be sure that they shot down the drone on purpose.
The United States does not seek escalation with Russia despite the case of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Black Sea. This was announced on Thursday, March 16, by Pentagon Speaker Pet Ryder, writes Sky News.
“We do not seek conflict with Russia, we do not seek escalation with Russia,” the Pentagon spokesman said. .
According to Pet Ryder, video footage of a Russian aircraft attempting to fuel an American UAV in the Black Sea was released “to demonstrate publicly what actions the Russians have taken.”
In addition, the Pentagon noted that the United States did not demand an apology from Russia after the Su-27 jet hit the propeller of the MQ-9 drone, forcing it to fall into the Black Sea.
Commenting on the search by Russians for a drone in the Black Sea, Ryder suggested that the Russian Federation is unlikely to be able to find something useful, since the United States has taken measures to protect information on board the UAV.
At the same time, Ryder added that the aggressive behavior of the Russian pilots was intentional, but the United States does not know for sure whether they shot down the drone on purpose.
“The stakes are high, so it’s important to keep the lines of communication open to prevent miscalculations,” Ryder said.
Russian Su-27 collides with American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea
On March 14, a Russian fighter jet collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace over the Black Sea. On the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the fighters of the Russian Armed Forces did not use airborne weapons and did not come into contact with the UAV.
On March 15, the adviser to the Presidential Administration Mikhail Podolyak said that the destruction of the American multi-purpose drone MQ-9 Reaper over the Black Sea is an example of a primitive attempt by the Russian Federation to find new “red lines”.
Also on March 15, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said that the Russian Federation was going to raise an American MQ-9 drone from the bottom of the Black Sea. According to him, the downed UAV is supposedly evidence that the United States is actually taking part in the war in Ukraine.
On March 16, the US military released footage of a mid-air collision between an MQ-9 Reaper drone and Russian Su-27 fighter jets over the Black Sea.
We also recall that on March 16 it was reported that the underwater robot of the Russian Ministry of Defense found parts of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone near Sevastopol in the Black Sea.
