Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of trying to “prolong the war” and involve other parties by colliding a Russian warplane with a US drone that self-destructed in the Black Sea.
“The US MQ-9 Reaper drone incident caused by Russia in the Black Sea is a sign of that [que o Presidente russo, Vladimir] Putin is ready to expand the conflict zone and involve other parties,” Ukraine’s Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in a message released today via the social network Twitter.
On Tuesday, NATO informed allies of the “incident,” classified by the White House as a “reckless act,” which prompted Washington, however, to summon the Russian ambassador to Washington.
In a message published this Wednesday, the ambassador, Anatoli Antonov, asked Washington to end hostile sorties near the Russian border, noting that Russia considers “clearly hostile to all action involving North American weapons” near the border as Russian.
According to the Russian defense ministry, the Russian fighter jets did not use weapons and did not crash the US drone.
US Air Force Europe commander James Hecker said the MQ-9 ‘drone’ was “carrying out routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and rammed by a Russian aircraft, resulting in the crash and loss of the MQ -9”.
The ministry said the US “drone” (unmanned aerial vehicle) was flying over an area close to the Russian border at the time and was heading for an area considered exclusive by Russian authorities.
It was also indicated that fighter jets had been sent out to intercept the ‘drone’, which would have crashed into the sea after a sudden manoeuvre.
Source: DN
