Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu wants to honor the Russian pilots involved in the crash of the US military drone over the Black Sea. They would have prevented the drone from entering the airspace blocked by Russia, it said.
The ministry announced this in Moscow on Friday. The military incident has significantly increased tensions between the Kremlin and the US government. As reported, an MQ-9 drone collided with a Russian fighter jet in international airspace over the Black Sea on Tuesday. The US military said two Russian Su-27s had begun an intercept maneuver. One of the fighter jets hit the propeller of the drone. Video shows a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel twice as it approaches the drone and gets extremely close to it.
US: “Reckless act”
The US government complained that the Russian pilots acted “unprofessional”, “unsafe” and “reckless”. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense denied any responsibility for the crash of the drone, stating that it lost altitude rapidly during a sharp evasive maneuver and crashed as a result. The Americans were charged with provocation.
Kremlin: Could have been avoided
The Kremlin announced it would recover the debris to reveal what the US government actually intended with the drone mission. However, it must be deep in the water. In addition, the Russian government maintains that it has closed the airspace over the Black Sea in the area because of the war in Ukraine and has also announced this internationally. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the incident would not have happened if “those who don’t deserve it” hadn’t flown there.
The participating Russian pilots are now rewarded. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the proposal because the pilots prevented the drone from entering restricted airspace.
Source: Krone
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