“With great disbelief”
John Kirby declaration CNN reported that the United States took “measures” to prevent the wreckage of a drone that crashed into the Black Sea from falling into the wrong hands.
“Without going into too much detail, I can say that with regard to this drone, we have taken measures to protect our property, especially this aircraft. USA made. “Of course we don’t want it to fall into the hands of anyone but us,” Kirby said.
The strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council added that the US “denies” allegations that Russia was not involved in the downing of the drone.
The White House spokesman insists that people “should take with great distrust everything they say about what the Russians are doing in and around Ukraine.”
The TV channel also reported that the US used these “spy drones” to “monitor the area” over the Black Sea before a special military operation began in Ukraine. These drones can fly to altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (more than 15 km) and “have sensors and capabilities for intelligence gathering and reconnaissance over extended periods of time, making them an ideal platform for tracking movements on the battlefield and in the Black Sea”.
In turn, journalists of the American television channel CBS published Video simulating a possible “collision” scenario between a US drone and a Russian aircraft over the Black Sea.
According to the channel, the drone was on a reconnaissance mission. And the collision made the drone “uncontrollable”, so it drowned at sea after the incident.
surveillance of Crimea
After the incident with an American drone, Russian Ambassador to the USA Anatoly Antonov was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His visit lasted a little over half an hour, according to CNN. After the meeting, the diplomat said that Moscow does not want to clash with the United States.
Antonov said that Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Donfried conveyed the US’s concerns about the incident to him. The ambassador explained that the parties “exchanged their views on this issue” as there were “some differences of opinion”.
“It seems to me that there has been a constructive conversation about this. I heard his words, I hope he understood what I was talking about, ”Antonov told reporters.
The diplomat also noted that the Russian side appealed to the American side that the area where the incident occurred was “defined as a special military operation zone” and that Russia “not to enter, not to enter”. Antonov added that Russia sees the incident with the drone as a “provocation”.
“The unacceptable activities of the US military in the immediate vicinity of our borders are alarming. We understand very well what these types of unmanned reconnaissance and attack vehicles are used for. <…> They are engaged in the collection of intelligence information, which was then used by the Kiev regime to attack our armed forces and our region, ”said Antonov.
He also asked journalists to imagine what the US reaction would be if such a drone suddenly appeared near New York or San Francisco.
“Most importantly, I believe that American planes and ships have no business near the borders of the Russian Federation,” said the Russian diplomat.
State Duma deputy Mikhail Sheremet from the Crimea region, in an interview with RIA Novosti, suggested that American drones flying over the Black Sea collect data on the locations of military installations and air defense systems in Crimea.
“This is not the first, and apparently not the last, case of the presence of American drones in the Black Sea near the coast of Crimea. “Their purpose is to gather intelligence to reveal the locations of military installations and air defense systems on the peninsula,” he said.
Sheremet believes that all the data received was later transferred to the Ukrainian side, which used it to attack the peninsula with drones.
Shot or fell on its own
The previous day, the US European Command reported that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea. One of the Russian planes “hit the propeller of a drone” while over international waters of the Black Sea, prompting the US military to sink the drone into the sea, according to Washington.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder added that the Russian plane flew “close” for 30 to 40 minutes before colliding with the drone.
“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting normal operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and shot down by a Russian aircraft, which resulted in the MQ-9 crashing and total loss,” said the Air Force general.
CNN reporters noted that this incident “marked the first direct physical contact between Russian and American military aircraft” since the start of a military special operation. Kirby stated that the actions of the Russian aircraft were “unsafe, unprofessional and reckless”.
The Russian Ministry of Defense denied Washington’s version. The ministry reported that they noticed an American UAV “in the region of the Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea” and was flying “in the direction of the state border” of Russia. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the drone flew “with the transponders turned off, violating the boundaries of the transitional regime zone for the use of airspace established for the purpose of conducting a special military operation.”
“Combatants attached to the on-duty air defense forces were lifted into the air to identify the intruder. As a result of the sudden maneuver, the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle lost altitude and took off into an uncontrolled flight and crashed into the water surface. Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons, did not come into contact with a drone, ”the Russian ministry insists.
New York Times reported Citing a senior Pentagon official, he referred to the fact that the American drone that crashed into the Black Sea was not equipped with any weapons.
While the drones, known as the Reapers, could carry Hellfire missiles, the aircraft was unarmed and was tracking about 75 miles southwest of Crimea.