Moscow To Retaliate If US Continues Flying Drones Over Black Sea - Russian Diplomat

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) The United States, intending to continue flying drones over the Black Sea, will prompt a retaliation from Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

"It is not the depths at which the wreckage of the drone is located that is important, but that it was in the zone where we introduced a special regime related to the conduct of the military operation. The Americans defiantly, cynically, clearly, publicly deny the legality of such steps, declare their intention continue their activities of this kind. They, as they say, run into against our countermeasures in this case. We warn them against trying to play on our nerves, testing our patience," Ryabkov told reporters.

Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry said a US MQ-9 drone fell in the Black Sea after engaging in sharp maneuvering, noting that Russian fighter jets sent to intercept it did not come into contact with it nor used weapons against it. The ministry said the air control of the Russian Aerospace Forces recorded the flight of the drone in the region of the Crimean peninsula in the direction of the Russian border. The US European Command, in turn, said that the incident that resulted in the complete loss of the drone involved a Russian Su-27 aircraft, which allegedly struck the drone's propeller during an "unsafe and unprofessional intercept" over the Black Sea.