Russia announced Tuesday night that it had sent two jets to intercept two drones, an MQ-9 Reaper and a Bayraktar TB2, over the Black Sea, without specifying who owned the devices.
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“In order to prevent a possible violation of the Russian border and to block the electronic reconnaissance mission of the drones, two Russian jets took off,” the Defense Ministry said, after which “the drones changed course and left the areas where they were conducting airstrikes.” “.
The Black Sea has been experiencing new tensions since Russia pulled out of the deal protecting exports, particularly grain, by sea in mid-July.
Earlier, Moscow claimed to have “destroyed” two Ukrainian military ships in the Black Sea.
And in recent months, numerous incidents involving Russian and Western aircraft have occurred over the Black Sea and Baltic Sea.
The tension was particularly high when, in mid-March, an American Reaper drone crashed into the Black Sea after colliding with a Russian fighter plane.
In May Moscow announced that it had intercepted four US strategic bombers in two separate incidents over the Baltic Sea within a week.
Russia has also announced over the months that it has intercepted French, German, Polish and British planes.