Ajit Karn
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated that Russia will continue to respond proportionally to any future US “provocations” a day after a Russian Su-27 fighter aircraft shot down an American military drone over the Black Sea.
Shoigu stated that Russia would continue to respond proportionally to all provocations comparable to the flight of US drones near the Russian border.
According to the media, Shoigu made this remark during a Wednesday (local time) telephone conversation with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, during which they discussed the causes and consequences of the incident involving the US unmanned aerial vehicle.
The focus was on an exchange of opinions regarding the causes and repercussions of the incident involving the US unmanned aerial vehicle that plummeted into the Black Sea on March 14.
According to the ministry, Shoigu stated that the incident was caused by US actions that disregarded the flight restrictions that Russia imposed on a certain area due to a special operation, as well as by increased intelligence collection against Russia.
During their telephone conversation, Shoigu informed Austin that the drone incident was caused by the United States’ failure to adhere to Russia’s flight restrictions in certain areas, according to media, citing the Defense Ministry.
According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shoigu stated that U.S. drone flights near the Crimean littoral are provocative, creating conditions for the situation to escalate.
A day after a Russian Su-27 fighter jet shot down an American military drone over the Black Sea, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin informed Russia that American aircraft will continue to “fly and operate wherever international law permits.”
Austin stated at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting that this “incident is part of a pattern of aggressive, dangerous, and hazardous actions in international airspace.”
“Therefore, there should be no confusion: the United States will continue to fly and operate wherever international law permits.” And it is Russia’s responsibility to operate military aircraft safely and professionally,” he added.
Austin was the first cabinet member to explicitly address the incident, which occurred on Tuesday when two Russian Su-27 aircraft intercepted an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
The downing of the drone marked the first direct physical contact between Russian and American military aircraft since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that a US MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle was observed flying over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula in violation of the temporary airspace regime established during the special operation.
In the meantime, the US State Department recalled the Russian ambassador to convey “our strong objections,” according to department spokesman Neal Price.
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Lynne Tracy, US Ambassador to Russia, “has conveyed a forceful message to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” according to Price.
