Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday accused the United States of “ignoring” airspace restrictions that Russia has imposed in the Black Sea coastal regions since the start of the war with Ukraine, CNN reported.

“They completely ignore the fact that after the start of the military special operation, our military declared the relevant areas of the Black Sea, adjacent in certain places, as areas with a restricted status for the use of any aviation,” Lavrov said in an interview. with the state Russian television “Russia-1”.

It will be recalled that a Russian fighter jet caused the crash of a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday. The Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker aircraft operated over international waters over the Black Sea.

An American drone took off from its base in Romania, a senior American military official told the New York Times. The MQ-9 Reaper took off from the base on Tuesday morning for a routine reconnaissance mission that usually lasts between nine and ten hours.

According to the Americans, the drone was performing routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and shot down by a Russian aircraft.

Kirby said on Tuesday that the US will continue to operate in the Black Sea and this incident will not stop them.

Russia’s defense ministry said its fighter jets did not make contact with the MQ-9 Reaper, instead claiming the drone crashed due to “sudden manoeuvres”.

Russia has announced that it will try to retrieve the remains of the Reaper drone from the Black Sea

Russia will try to recover the remains of an American military drone that fell into the Black Sea, said the secretary of the Moscow Security Council Mykola Patrushev, quoted by Reuters.

• “I don’t know if we can recover it or not, but we have to try. And we will definitely take care of it. Of course, I hope for success,” Patrusev said on the air of the Russia-1 TV channel.
• “Secondly, regarding the drone, the Americans say all the time that they are not participating in military operations (in Ukraine). This is the latest confirmation that they are directly participating in these operations, in the war,” the Russian official added.

If the Russians take the drone, US authorities have taken precautions to ensure their ability to obtain useful information is limited, Kirby told ABC. “This is our property,” Kirby emphasized, adding that US authorities will continue to explore recovery options.

The US has “clear evidence” but is not sure that the plane crashed into the drone

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said that the United States does not know whether a Russian fighter intentionally shot down an American drone over the Black Sea, CNN reports.

It’s an issue officials are looking into, he said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that he has a phone call scheduled with his Russian counterpart to discuss that, among other issues.

“We know the interception was intentional, we know the aggressive behavior was intentional, we also know it was very unprofessional and very dangerous,” Milley said.

As for the physical contact between the plane and the drone, “that remains to be seen.”

However, Milley said the US had “clear evidence of contact and interception”.

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