Russian fighter jet collides with US drone over Black Sea
Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on a United States (US) drone and then collided with it over the Black Sea on Tuesday, causing the unmanned aircraft to crash. The US military has slammed Russia's action as "reckless, environmentally unsound, and unprofessional." Russia, however, has denied coming into contact with the drone, claiming it was flying near the Russian border in an area declared off-limits.
Why does this story matter?
This incident marks the first direct encounter between Russia and the US since the former invaded Ukraine in February last year. Both countries have been engaged in proxy wars in various parts of the world to counter each other's global dominance. However, this incident raises the possibility of a direct confrontation between them, which could lead to another war engulfing almost the entire world.
MQ-9 Reaper was on routine ISR mission: US
The Pentagon said the drone, MQ-9 Reaper, was on a routine intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission when two Russian Su-27 fighter jets flew in front of it and dumped fuel several times before damaging its propeller. Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the jets flew in the drone's vicinity for 30 to 40 minutes before colliding with it at 7 am Central European Time.
Scrambled jets to intercept but had no contact: Russia
The Russian Defense Ministry said it scrambled jets to intercept the drone as it entered a restricted area. However, the jets had no contact with the drone as they didn't use weapons, it said. The unmanned aerial vehicle encountered an uncontrolled loss of altitude after a sharp maneuver and collided with the surface of the water, it said.
Preventing the drone from getting into the wrong hands: US
Meanwhile, the US has summoned Russia's ambassador to register its protest. The White House's national security spokesperson John Kirby said that the US was trying to prevent the drone from getting into the wrong hands. "Without getting into too much detail, what I can say is that we've taken steps to protect our equities with respect to that particular drone," he said.
Situation unlikely to escalate: NATO officials
Although Russian intercepts over the Black Sea are common, Kirby underlined this incident as reckless. On a positive note, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) diplomats in Brussels said the incident is unlikely to immediately escalate the situation as diplomatic channels in Russia and US would contain the fallout. The US is a founding member of NATO, which Ukraine insists on joining despite Russia's disapproval.
