Hyderabad: A Russian fighter jet has reportedly struck a US Air Force surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, which US termed it as a brazen violation of international law. The incident has resulted in the damage of the propeller of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, as informed by a US official who spoke with the media.
Reports claim that the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of the Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets that were flying above the Black sea. The Russian jets then allegedly dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, informed the official. The US Air Force issued a statement accusing the Russian aircraft of acting in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.”
“At approximately 7:03 AM (CET), one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters. Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” US Air Force Gen. James B.Hecker, commander, U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa said in the statement.
National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby informed that President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident by national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday morning. As reported by CNN, Kirby said it was “not uncommon” for Russian aircraft to intercept US aircraft over the Black Sea, and said there had been other intercepts in recent weeks. But he said the episode Tuesday was unique in how “unsafe, unprofessional and reckless” the Russian actions were.
However, Russia maintained that its fighter jet didn't hit the MQ-9 Reaper drone. According to Russia, the drone maneuvered sharply and crashed into the water after an encounter with the Russian fighter jets scrambled to intercept the drone near Crimea. It is the first time since the height of the Cold War that a US craft was brought down by a Russian fighter jet.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called it a “brazen violation of international law.” He said the U.S. had summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest and that the US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy too has made similar representations to Moscow.
Moscow's position is that it has bee repeatedly voicing concern over US intelligence flights flying close to the Crimean Peninsula. Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. Russia has been charging the US and its allies are effectively engaged in the conflict by providing weapons and intelligence inputs to Ukraine. (with AP inputs)
