Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has announced that the pilots of the Su-27 fighter that hit the U.S. drone this week over the Black Sea will be decorated for their work in preventing a violation of airspace »in the area of the Russian special operation».
Thus, he explained that the incident managed to avoid a »violation by the US drone MQ-9 of the airspace in the area established on the occasion of the special military operation on a temporary basis», according to the TASS news agency.
Shoigu stressed that the said airspace was delimited and presented to the international community in accordance with the current regulations, so the United States »was aware» of the situation in the area.
The United States confirmed on Tuesday that one of its drones had fallen into Black Sea waters after colliding with a Russian fighter jet while operating in international airspace. Russia, for its part, defended that it had not come into contact with the drone and said it crashed after a series of strange maneuvers.
Following this, Russia seems to have been trying to get its hands on the debris of the UAV, expanding its naval presence in the Black Sea, as denounced by the Ukrainian military authorities on Thursday. For its part, Washington believes that Moscow has managed to get its hands on some of the wreckage of the drone.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
