Ukraine accuses that Tuesday’s incident over the Black Sea, where an American drone crashed after being intercepted by Russian planes, is a “signal” sent by Vladimir Putin that he is ready to expand the conflict, writes AFP.

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the Security Council of UkrainePhoto: Ukrinform / Shutterstock editors / Profimedia
  • “The Russian-caused incident with the American MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Black Sea is Putin’s signal about his willingness to expand the conflict zone by involving other parties,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine, said in a comment. message posted on Twitter on Wednesday.

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.

The US European Command said two Russian Su-27 fighter jets conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional interception” of a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone operating in international airspace over the Black Sea.

  • “Around 07:03, one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft hit the MQ-9’s propeller, resulting in the downing of the MQ-9 by US forces in international waters.
  • “Several times before the collision, the Su-27 dumped fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a careless and unprofessional manner,” the source said.

The Russian Defense Ministry, however, blamed the crash on the drone’s “sudden maneuvers” and claimed that its aircraft did not make contact with the drone.

The US State Department summoned Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, to express US concern over the incident, the first since the war in Ukraine began more than a year ago.

  • “The message that was sent to the Russian ambassador is that they need to be more careful when flying in international airspace near US territories, which, again, are flying in perfectly legal ways on missions in support of our national security interests.” Kirby said. in an interview with CNN.
  • “It is they who should be more careful,” he added.

Kirby also said the MQ-9 reconnaissance drone has not been found and may never be, given the depth of the Black Sea in the area where it was shot down.

In turn, the Russian ambassador to the United States stated that the drone “deliberately and provocatively headed toward the territory of Russia with the transceiver turned off.”

An American drone took off from its base in Romania, a senior American military official told the New York Times.