The downing of a US intelligence drone in the Black Sea has once again created a tiff between the US and Russia, with both countries giving different accounts of the incident. The United States said Tuesday that one of its MQ-9 “Reaper” intelligence and surveillance drones was struck by a Russian Su-27 fighter. “Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on, and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said.
However, Russia has said that no fuel was dumped on the MQ-9 drone. It was flying near Crimea and heading towards territories which Russia considers its own, it said.
“As a result of sharp manoeuvring around 9.30 Moscow time, the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into an uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water,” Russia’s defence ministry said.
Moscow added that since the transponders of the drone had been turned off, fighters were scrambled to identify it.
“Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to the home airfield.”
Now, Russia’s ambassador to the United States has spoken on the matter and, on Wednesday, called on Washington to stop “hostile” flights near his country’s border.
“We assume that the United States will refrain from further speculation in the media and stop flights near Russian borders,” ambassador Anatoly Antonov wrote on Telegram. “We consider any action with the use of US weaponry as openly hostile.”
“The unacceptable actions of the United States military in the close proximity to our borders are cause for concern,” Antonov said. “We are well aware of the missions such reconnaissance and strike drones are used for.”
“If, for example, a Russian strike drone appeared near New York or San Francisco, how would the US Air Force and Navy react?” Antonov asked.
The United States, in its defence, said the drone was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by the Russian aircraft.
The US air force describes the Reaper as “employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets”.
(With inputs from agencies)
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
