WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2023) Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has arrived at the State Department after being summoned in relation to a US drone crash, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.
Antonov walked into the State Department building at 4:05 p.m. EST.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said the US drone MQ-9 fell into the Black Sea as a result of maneuvering sharply and Russian fighter jets did not come into contact with it nor used weapons against it.
The Defense Ministry said that the air control of the Russian Aerospace Forces had recorded the flight of the US unmanned aerial vehicle the Black Sea in the region of the Crimean peninsula in the direction of the Russian border.
The flight was carried out with the aircraft's transponder turned off, violating the boundaries of the area of the temporary regime for the use of the airspace, which was established for the purpose of conducting Russia's special military operation and communicated to all users as well as published in accordance with international standards, the Defense Ministry said.
Russian fighter jets were scrambled to identify the intruder, the Defense Ministry added.
Earlier in the day, the US European Command (EUCOM) issued a release saying the incident involved a Russian Su-27 aircraft, which struck the propeller of MQ-9 drone during an "unsafe and unprofessional intercept" over the Black Sea. EUCOM added that the incident resulted in a "complete loss" of the MQ-9 drone.
