MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – Because of a US reconnaissance drone over the Black Sea, the Russian military claims to have launched a fighter jet. Air surveillance systems have detected a target moving towards Russian airspace, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. A Su-30 fighter was then sent to identify the flying object and prevent the border from being breached. According to Russian military leadership, the MQ-9A “Reaper” drone turned around and the fighter also returned.
Initially, there was no comment from Washington. After earlier incidents in the Black Sea, the United States emphasized that its reconnaissance drones were legally in international airspace. In March, a US military drone collided with a Russian fighter jet in international airspace over the Black Sea. The US blamed “unsafe and unprofessional” actions by the Russian side. US forces should have shot down the drone, he said.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for a good 18 months and uses its own Black Sea Fleet to bomb the area, among other things./ash/DP/he