The United States announced on Tuesday that it had summoned the Russian ambassador in Washington to the State Department to express his “strong objection” to the US drone incident over the Black Sea.
“We are in direct contact with the Russians, at a high level, to convey to them our strong objection to this unprofessional and unsafe interception that led to the downing of our drone,” the doorman, spokesman for US diplomacy, Ned Price, told reporters.
The American spokesman spoke again of a “clear violation of international law.” He added that the US ambassador to Moscow had also conveyed Washington’s protests in a message to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
A drone intercepted and struck, according to Washington
A Russian Su-27 fighter jet “intercepted and rammed” a US Reaper drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, causing it to go down, an act described as “reckless” by the White House, amid fears of the war in Ukraine. of a climb .
“Our MQ-9 drone was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and rammed by a Russian aircraft, leading to the crash and loss of the MQ-9,” said General James Hecker, commander of the forces. American airlines in Europe. .
It is the first time since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory on February 24, 2022 that a NATO country, supported by Ukraine, has acknowledged losing self-operated equipment in this highly flammable region.
A “dangerous and unprofessional” act
“This is a dangerous and unprofessional act on the part of the Russians,” the senior official said, adding that “US and allied drones will continue to operate in international airspace,” and called on the Russians to “behave professionally.” .
“Aggressive actions by Russian crews could lead to miscalculations and inadvertent escalation,” the US military insisted in the same statement.
The collision appears to have taken place in the airspace off the Ukrainian city of Odessa, according to the US Naval Institute. According to the FlightRadar24 website, a P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft was circling off the coast of Romania after takeoff from Sigonella airbase, Italy.
A “unique” incident
A White House spokesman, John Kirby, denounced a “reckless act” by the Russians, noting that there have been interceptions of US drones by Russian planes in the past, but that this incident was “unique” in the sense of which resulted in the loss of the reaper.
The skies of the Black Sea are the scene of very regular interactions between drones and aircraft of NATO countries and the Russian armed forces, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“With the current crisis, we have an increase in the number of reconnaissance vectors to Crimea, with Reaper, that we didn’t have before. And depending on the situation, this can irritate the Russians. There have been Western collection activities (of information, editor’s note) who are participating in the Ukraine national team”, stresses a French expert who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine’s Western allies, which have been supplying Kiev with weapons since the start of the conflict to help it defend itself, are not directly involved on Ukrainian soil, fearing an escalation with Russian nuclear power.
Source: BFM TV
