Russian ambassador to US calls US drone maneuvers in the Black Sea a “provocation”
Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, on Tuesday called the maneuvers of a U.S. drone a “provocation”. over the waters of the Black Sea after a Russian Air Force SU-27 fighter jet hit the unmanned vehicle.
“I think this is a real provocation. This provoked us to take certain actions. after which one could blame Russia or the Russian Army for some kind of unprofessionalism,” he has said, as reported by TASS news agency.
Antonov, who reiterated that the aircraft was flying with the transponders turned off, made these remarks to the press after being summoned by the U.S. State Department and leaving a meeting to explain what happened to the U.S. ambassador. in Moscow, Lynne Tracy.
According to the U.S. Forces Command, one of the Russian fighters flying over the Black Sea hit one of the drone’s propellers, prompting U.S. authorities to shoot it down at sea. According to the Pentagon, Russian aircraft flew close to the device for more than 30 minutes before. before it fell into the waters of the Black Sea, and the wreckage was never recovered.
For their part, the Russian authorities have stated that the Russian military at no time made use of weaponry or came into contact with the U.S. drone.which was flying with its transponders off and violating the area delimited “in accordance with international rules” for overflights in international airspace.
