Still Tensions in the air between Russia and the United States. Moscow has sent a Su-35 fighter jet to the Baltic Sea after discovering two American B-52H strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear bombs. The Russian news agency Interfax reported that Russian systems detected two planes that were flying towards the border with the Russian Federation.
“The targets were identified as B-52H strategic bombers of the US Air Force,” said the Russian National Defense Control Center on the borders of the Russian Federation. After the withdrawal of foreign military aircraft from the border, the fighter returned to its base. The mission of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict compliance with international rules regarding the use of airspace, and no breach of borders was allowed.
In recent days, after being intercepted by two Russian planes, an American drone flying over the Black Sea crashed, prompting an exchange of accusations between Washington and Moscow, with the first direct contact between the two superpowers after the first year of the war in Ukraine. . According to the Stars and Stripes version, the American MQ-9 crashed after colliding with the Russian Su-27. But Russia denied any responsibility and speaks of an accident: the drone fell on its own after an incorrect maneuver.
the United State A reconstruction of the episode, which ran 30-40 minutes, with information released by the White House and Pentagon. According to Gen. James Hecker, the drone was “performing routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and struck by a Russian aircraft,” namely a Su-27 that “caused an accident and the complete loss of the MQ-9.” The United States decided to shoot down the drone in international waters.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder says the plane “may have been damaged.” “Because of the damage, we had to crash it into the Black Sea,” adds a Pentagon spokesman, explaining that the drone can no longer fly. It added that the MQ-9 Reaper drone was conducting “routine operations in international airspace”.
General Hecker reconstructs the stages of the engagement: “At 7.03am, one of the ‘two Russian Su-27s’ present in the area” hit an MQ-9 propeller, forcing US forces to shoot down the missile. MQ-9 in international waters. Several times before impact, the Su-27s released fuel by flying in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, inappropriate, and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates incompetence as well as “dangerous and unprofessional” behaviour, in Hecker’s words.
The White House expresses itself through John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council: “If the message is that the” Russians “want to dissuade us from flying and operating in international airspace over the Black Sea, then this message will fail, because this will not happen.” Because “we will continue to fly and operate in international airspace over international waters.” Kirby then adds that “The Black Sea does not belong to any country. We will continue to do what we must do in our national security interests in that part of the world.” The United States is evaluating whether to release at least part of the images from the episode. Meanwhile, they work to recover the remains of the plane and prevent Stars and Stripes technology, along with any data collected, from falling into the wrong hands. “Without going into detail, I can say that we have taken the necessary steps,” Kirby says. “It’s American property, and we don’t want anyone else to put it down.”
Summoning Ambassador Anatoly Antonov to Washington, and inviting him to provide explanations after the first response from the Ministry of Defense from He flies: The American MQ-9 Reaper drone that crashed in the Black Sea “was violating the rules for using airspace” and that is why “Russian fighters took off.” However, “there was no contact between the American drones and the Russian fighters,” which “did not use weapons.”
“The US drone, after a sudden maneuver, lost control in flight, lost altitude and crashed into the water,” the ministry claimed. “The drone was flying toward the border of the Russian Federation,” the note adds, noting that the aircraft had “turned off its transponders.” The ministry also stated that “after the discovery of the drone, the fighters of the Russian Armed Forces on duty took off.”
“Russia does not seek confrontation with the United States. The Russian Federation considers the incident of the American drone in the skies over the Black Sea a provocation. The question of ‘consequences’ for Moscow has not yet been raised, ”says Antonov,’ the diplomat explains, stressing the need for The United States and Russia are acting “very cautiously” after the recent events.
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