In a recent incident that highlights the ongoing tensions between Russia and the United States, a Russian fighter jet has reportedly hit an American drone over the Black Sea. According to the US military, the Russian warplane came dangerously close to the American aircraft before making contact, leading to concerns about Russia’s actions in the region. This incident comes at a time when tensions between Moscow and Washington are already high, with disputes over military activity and political influence in the region continuing to dominate headlines. As the two nations continue to navigate these rocky waters, the fallout from this latest incident remains to be seen.
On Tuesday, a US surveillance drone was brought down by a Russian fighter jet after a collision over the Black Sea. This incident caused US forces to bring down the unmanned aircraft, which Moscow claims maneuvered sharply, while according to the US, it was struck by a fighter jet that caused it to crash. This issue has added to Russia-US tensions over Moscow’s war actions in Ukraine.
Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted the US MQ-9 drone, which was operating in international airspace over the Black Sea. The US European Command stated that the Russian fighter jets “conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept,” and one of them “struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters.”
Several communications took place between State Department officials and their Russian counterparts to resolve the situation. Ned Price, State Department spokesman, called it a “brazen violation of international law.” The US ambassador to Russia also initiated similar representations in Moscow.
The US believes that the incident demonstrated incompetence, recklessness, and environmental unsoundness in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional. The MQ-9 drone was conducting routine operations in international airspace and lost control after colliding with a Russian aircraft. Brigadier General Pat Ryder said that the crash involved international waters, and there did not appear to be any communications between the two aircraft before the collision.
The US had summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest, and Russia’s Defense Ministry argued that the US drone flight was a “provocation.” The Russian ambassador insisted that Russian warplanes did not use their weapons or hit the American drone, and therefore the situation was unintentional.
The incident marks the first time since the Cold War’s height that a US plane has been brought down by a Russian warplane. Due to this incident, General David Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, expressed concerns about such collisions in that region of Europe and in the Pacific, calling them his greatest concern.
