The heads of the defense departments discussed the situation with the downing of an American drone in the Black Sea. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation publishes the details of the conversation.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a conversation with his American colleague Lloyd Austin, noted that the causes of the incident lie in the non-compliance by the United States with the declared flight restriction zone by the Russian Federation.
In addition, Shoigu pointed out that US drone flights off Crimea are provocative, which creates the preconditions for an escalation of the situation.
During the conversations, it was noted that major nuclear powers should maintain military communication channels to discuss crisis situations.
The airspace control means of the Aerospace Forces recorded the flight of the MQ-9 drone in the direction of the border of the Russian Federation the day before, on March 14. Russian fighters were lifted into the air, but due to a sudden maneuver the drone took an uncontrolled flight, lost altitude and fell into the water. The Ministry of Defense says the wreckage of the drone has been brought to the surface.
Meanwhile, US Air Force Europe Commander Hecker said the incident was caused by the allegedly “dangerous and unprofessional” maneuvers of the Russian Su-27.
