‘U.S. drone crashed in Black Sea’ heats up
The U.S. and Russia are fighting for the second day in a row over the crash of an MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea. The two countries engaged in a ‘second collision’, saying they would salvage the crashed drone. High-ranking officials from both countries also lashed out at each other with harsh words.
The U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing that the threatening flight of the Russian fighter jet that led to the drone crash was in accordance with the instructions from the top floor of the Kremlin Palace. Russia criticized the U.S., saying that it was as if the U.S. had actually taken part in the war in Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had a phone call to try to rectify the situation, but only a sharp difference was confirmed.
According to Reuters, etc., Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian National Security Council, appeared on a local broadcast on the 15th and said, “It may be possible to retrieve it (the drone wreckage), but it must be done. I will do my best to make it successful.” “The drones are the latest evidence confirming that the United States is directly involved in the war in Ukraine,” he said. On the other hand, Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “The drone is an American asset,” and said, “We will proceed with the recovery operation through our friends.”
Initially, the United States thought that it would be technically difficult to retrieve the drone that had sunk deep under the sea. However, Russia is aggressive in the recovery, and if the wreckage falls into Russian hands, it is pushing ahead with the recovery, fearing that various latest military secrets may be leaked. “All sensitive information was deleted right before the drone crashed,” Milley said. Whatever remains, I am sure there is no valuable content,” he said, cautioning against the Russian side’s intention to retrieve it.
On that day, NBC reported that “the top officials of the Kremlin Palace directly approved the threat flight of Russian fighter jets against US drones.” However, it said that it was not aware of the circumstances that Russian President Vladimir Putin directly authorized the threat flight.
On the 16th, the U.S. European Command released a video showing a collision between a Russian fighter jet and a U.S. drone. According to a video reported by CNN, a Su-27 fighter jet approached the drone MQ-9 twice at high speed and flew over it while spraying fuel. The video was interrupted when the fighter jet that flew back collided with the MQ-9. This video was taken with a camera mounted on an MQ-9.
On this day, Minister Austin and Secretary Shoigu had a phone call about this issue in five months since October of last year. Minister Austin said, “It is very important to keep the possibility of communication open,” but it is known that the difference between the two positions was significant.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Minister Shoigu said, “This incident occurred because the US has increased espionage activities that run counter to Russian national interests and the US has not complied with the flight restrictions we have set.” We will respond accordingly,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also added, “The United States is trying to provoke Russia by flying over the Black Sea Coast restricted flight zone.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We know that the relationship between the two countries is at its worst.”
The US did not stand still. Secretary Austin sent a direct warning to Russia at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Liaison Group (UDCG), a consultative body for Western aid to Ukraine, held in Washington on the same day. “Russia, make no mistake. The United States will continue to fly wherever international law allows it.” He made it clear that in the future he would continue reconnaissance activities along the Black Sea coast.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told MSNBC that the crash was not likely intended by Russia, but that it “resulted from the gross incompetence of one of the Russian pilots.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.