Russian fighter jet collides with American drone over Black sea, US summons Russian ambassador

The US said it summoned the Russian ambassador on Tuesday, after a Russian fighter jet forced down a US military "Reaper" surveillance drone over the Black Sea.

Ned Price, the spokesman for the State Department, said, "We are summoning the Russian ambassador to the State Department."

Moscow said the American drone sharply maneuvered and crashed after an encounter with Russian jets near Crimea, but insisted that Russian fighter jets didn't fire weapons or hit the drone.

The Russian Defense Ministry said their fighters from air defense forces on duty were in the air to identify the "intruder" over the Black Sea.

The US said that a Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of the surveillance drone in "brazen violation of international law."

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Two #Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted an unsafe & unprofessional intercept with a @usairforce
intelligence, surveillance, & reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 aircraft operating w/in international airspace over the #BlackSea today. https://t.co/nLuJy2Awbe@DeptofDefense @NATO pic.twitter.com/f0njn4gzSj

— U.S. European Command (@US_EUCOM) March 14, 2023 >

The Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, described the US drone flight as a "provocation," saying there was no reason for US military aircraft and warships to be near Russia's borders.

Speaking after meeting US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried, Antonov added that Moscow wants "pragmatic" ties with Washington and "don't want any confrontation between the US and Russia."

US Air Force General James Hecker, who oversees the US Air Force in the region, said in a statement, "Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9." 

The US military added the incident followed a pattern of dangerous behavior by Russian pilots operating near aircraft flown by the US and its allies, including over the Black Sea.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters they don't "need to have some sort of check-in with the Russians before we fly in international airspace. There's no requirement to do that nor do we do it."

The Black Sea lies between Europe and Asia and is bordered by Russia and Ukraine, among other countries. 

Kirby said the incident was "noteworthy because of how unsafe and unprofessional it was, indeed reckless that it was."  

"The State Department will be speaking directly with their Russian counterparts, and expressing our concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept," he added. 

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the matter as well. Tuesday's incident appeared to mark the first time since the height of the Cold War that a US aircraft was brought down after being hit by a Russian warplane.