As we reported in connection with the serious incident: John Kirby, the spokesman for the White House National Security Council, emphasized that the State Department in Washington is in direct contact with the Russian Foreign Ministry “to express its concern about this risky and unprofessional interception”. In fact, he also indicated that US President Joe Biden was also informed about the incident.
Shortly thereafter, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that local time by Tuesday afternoon, the Russian ambassador to Washington was summoned to the State Department to express to him the United States’ “strong protest” over the incident. He also informed that the US ambassador in Moscow had also expressed his protest to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Update!
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its fighter jets did not come into contact with the US military drone that crashed into the Black Sea that day. Moscow’s ministry acknowledged that two of its fighter jets had intercepted a US drone over the Black Sea, but claimed that they did not open fire on him or come into contact with him.
As a result of a violent maneuver, the MQ-9 drone began to free fall, lost altitude and hit the water surface
– announced the Russian Ministry of Defense, according to which the Russian warplanes did not collide with the drone and did not cause it to fall.
Earlier, in a statement, the competent general of the US Air Force indicated that in the minutes before the collision, one of the two Su-27 planes dropped fuel on the drone and then cut directly in front of it. He also indicated that the MQ-9
A Russian aircraft intercepted and hit it, causing the drone to crash and perish.
Cover image source: Getty Images
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