Russia claims US drone maneuvered sharply, crashed into water

Russia is claiming that the U.S. drone that Biden administration officers stated was hit by a Russian fighter jet didn’t truly make contact with the warplane and as a substitute maneuvered sharply and crashed into the Black Sea by itself. 

U.S. officers introduced the incident on Tuesday, with White Home nationwide safety spokesman John Kirby saying a Russian pilot’s actions had been “unsafe and unprofessional.” 

U.S. European Command stated the drone, an MQ-9 Reaper, was flying over worldwide waters when two Russian fighter jets pursued it. The company stated one flew in entrance of the drone and dumped gas on it, and one broken the drone’s propeller, forcing it down. 

In response, the Russian Protection Ministry stated the drone intruded in a area close to Crimea that it had stated is off limits. Russia has managed the Crimean Peninsula since annexing it in 2014, and Ukraine has vowed to retake the area amid Russia’s invasion of the nation. 

The ministry stated the fighter jets didn’t hearth any weapons, didn’t come into contact with the unpiloted drone and returned safely to their base. 

“On account of a pointy maneuver, the MQ-9 drone went into unguided flight with a lack of altitude and crashed into the water,” the ministry stated. 

Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the USA, stated the drone was a “provocation” that didn’t have any motive to be so near Russia’s borders, including that the warplanes didn’t hearth upon or hit the drone. 

Kirby instructed Jake Tapper in an interview on CNN on Tuesday that the U.S. took steps to “shield our equities” with the drone and the general public ought to take Russia’s denial with “an enormous grain of salt.” 

“We clearly don’t need to see anyone getting their arms on it past us,” he stated. 

U.S. officers have famous within the aftermath of the incident that it was uncommon and have expressed some concern that it may result in “unintended escalation” amid the conflict in Ukraine. 

The Related Press contributed to this report.