The Russian ambassador has accused the US of an “act of provocation”, claiming his warplane failed to hit a US drone that crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday.
“We regard this incident as a provocation,” Russian state news agency RIA quoted Ambassador Anatoly Antonov as saying on Tuesday.
Antonov made the comments after being subpoenaed by the US State Department on Tuesday to answer for the downing of one of its surveillance drones in international airspace.
The US surveillance drone crashed into the sea after a Russian Su-27 jet struck its propeller, the Pentagon said, the first such incident since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over a year ago.
Russia has denied any contact and says the drone crashed after “sharp manoeuvring”.
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov described the incident over the Black Sea involving a US MQ-9 Reaper drone and a Russian Su-27 as an “act of provocation”.
Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, speaks to reporters after a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried Tuesday at the US State Department
Antonov said his meeting at the Foreign Ministry was “constructive” and the question of possible “consequences” for Moscow because of the incident had not been raised, RIA reported.
“We do not want a confrontation between the United States and Russia. We support building pragmatic relations for the benefit of the peoples of Russia and America,” Antonov was quoted as saying.
US officials said the drone was shot down early Tuesday after an “unsafe and unprofessional interception” in international airspace by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets.
They said the Russian jets flew around and in front of the drone several times for 30 to 40 minutes
Pentagon officials said the Russian fighters harassed the drone by dumping fuel on it before a Su-27 clipped the $32 million drone’s propeller and propelled it across the Black Sea with a total loss of the UAV.
“This incident demonstrates a lack of competence, in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a news conference.
Ryder said the collision also likely damaged the Russian fighter jet, but the Su-27 managed to land. Where it ended up, he didn’t want to say.
In a statement, Russia’s Defense Ministry denied the collision with the US drone and said the American plane went into “uncontrolled flight” due to “sharp manoeuvring”.
The incident happened in international airspace, but not far from the fighting raging on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine amid the country’s ongoing Russian invasion.
“This incident demonstrates a lack of competence, in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” said Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder (above).
A Russian fighter jet collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone (like the one pictured above) over the Black Sea, the US military confirmed today
Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets (like the one pictured above) conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional interception” in international airspace, the US said
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who described Russia’s actions as reckless and dangerous.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the US drone was flying towards its airspace with the transponder turned off and that the Russian fighters had been dispatched to investigate.
“Russian fighters did not use air forces and did not come into contact with the American drone,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Due to sharp maneuvering, the American drone went into an uncontrolled flight with loss of altitude and collided with the water surface,” the statement added.
Russian Ambassador Antonov has been summoned to discuss the incident, State Department spokesman Ned Price said, calling it a “blatant violation of international law”.
Kirby, the White House spokesman, said the State Department “will be speaking directly to its Russian counterparts and voicing our concerns about this unsafe and unprofessional wiretapping.”
“If the message is that they want to discourage us from flying or from operating in international airspace over the Black Sea, then that message will fail,” Kirby said.
“We don’t have to check in with the Russians before flying in international airspace. It’s not required and we don’t do it,” Kirby added.
While the United States does not sail warships in the Black Sea, it has routinely flown surveillance aircraft in and around the area.
The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov (above), was summoned by the State Department to discuss the incident
Putin on Tuesday visited the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant in Buryatia, Russia, where he reiterated his view that Russia’s very existence as a state is at stake in the war
Russian Sukhoi SU-27
Type: fighter jet
Crew: One
Top speed: 1,550 km/h
Length: 72ft
Wingspan: 48ft
Range: 2,193 miles
Cost: $30 million
Armament: 30mm cannons, air-to-air/land missiles, rockets and bombs
US MQ-9 Reaper
Type: Surveillance Drone
Remote Crew: Two
Top speed: 300 km/h
Length: 36ft
Wingspan: 66ft
Range: 1,150 miles
Cost: $32 million
Armament: AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II and GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition
“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in the crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker, who sent the U.S monitors Air Force in the region.
“In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional action by the Russians almost caused both planes to crash,” Hecker added.
The general further pledged that “US and allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely.”
European Command said in a statement the incident “followed a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots” over international airspace, including the Black Sea.
“These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculations and unintended escalations,” the statement added.
The collision between a US-made MQ-9 Reaper and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet occurred Tuesday at 7:03 a.m. BST (2:03 a.m. ET).
Analysts suspect the Russians may have attempted to shoot down the much smaller UAV in a way that would allow them to recover its data.
General Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said the incident happened over international waters and far from Ukraine after the Russian jets flew near the drone for 30 to 40 minutes.
Before the collision, there appeared to be no communication between the planes, Ryder added.
The MQ-9 is capable of carrying ammunition, but Ryder declined to comment on whether it was armed or the specifics of its mission, saying only that the drone was designed for reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance .
Ryder also refused to identify the base from which the destroyed MQ-9 took off.
The US has MQ-9s based at several NATO bases in Europe, including NAS Sigonella in Italy, Miroslawiec AB in Poland, Campia Turzii in Romania and Larissa Air Base in Greece.
US officials said neither the US nor Russia had recovered the destroyed drone as of Tuesday night local time.
The US has no warships in the Black Sea, but on Tuesday night public flight data showed a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft was patrolling over the Romanian coast, possibly in connection with a salvage operation.
On Tuesday evening, public flight data showed that a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft was patrolling the Romanian coast, possibly in connection with a salvage operation
A US Air Force Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft flies over neutral waters of the Black Sea in a photo taken by Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighters who intercepted it in July 2021
In Brussels, NATO’s senior military commander, General Christopher Cavoli, briefed allies on the incident, an alliance official said.
It came as waves of Russian troops advanced along the front line in eastern Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin reiterated his view that Russia’s very existence as a state was at stake in the war.
In the eastern Donbass region, Russia and Ukraine are locked in the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since World War II after Moscow launched a winter offensive.
Putin has portrayed Moscow’s years-long invasion of Ukraine as a defensive backlash against what he sees as a hostile West bent on expanding into areas historically ruled by Russia.
“So for us, this is not a geopolitical task, but a task of the survival of Russian statehood, which creates conditions for the future development of the country and our children,” Putin said during a visit to an aircraft factory in Buryatia, some 2,750 miles east of Moscow .
Putin accuses the West of using Ukraine as a tool to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia.
Kiev and its western allies say Moscow is waging an unprovoked war of conquest that has razed Ukrainian cities, killed thousands and forced millions more to flee.