Escalation of tension between Washington and Moscow after the collision of a Russian fighter and an American combat drone, which caused the forced shooting down of the latter in the Black Sea. The US has ruled out that it was an accident. Moscow dismisses it as “provocative”, while the White House has called it “reckless and insecure”.
Both Washington and Moscow blame each other for the downing of the drone
“We saw, again, fighter jets dumping fuel on the UAV and they got so close that they damaged the propeller of the MQ-9 combat drone. Due to the damage, it crashed into the Black Sea,” Pat said. Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.
The Russian ambassador to the US was called for consultations to explain the interception over the Black Sea
The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, was summoned to the State Department but not before justifying the actions of the Russian pilots: “This drone can carry 1,700 kilos of explosives. That drone can carry a few bombs. You’ll see what the action of If the United States sees that Russian drone very close to, for example, San Francisco or New York, what will the United States’ reaction be? It’s clear to me.”
The downed MQ-9, a drone that can be armed and is designed for surveillance
Interception by Russian planes of US aircraft over the Black Sea is not uncommon. The Pentagon considers it serious and has warned that this type of action can lead to a miscalculation and an unforeseen escalation.