Pentagon holds briefing after US drone downed over Black Sea
Brig Gen Pat Ryder of the US air force is speaking at a news conference after the collision of a Russian fighter jet with a US drone over the Black Sea.
He cites a US European Command statement that said Russian aircraft conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional” intercept with a US unmanned aircraft that was operating within international airspace.
He said:
At approximately 7.03am CET, one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters. Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless and unprofessional manner.
This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.
He said such kinds of US aircraft had been flying over the Black Sea region for some time, adding that it was an “important and busy international waterway”.
You can watch his news conference live here:
Pentagon briefs media after collision between Russian fighter jet and US drone – watch live
The US will summon the Russian ambassador over the collision of a Russian fighter jet with a US drone over the Black Sea, the US state department’s spokesperson Ned Price has said.
The US ambassador to Moscow conveyed a strong message to Russia’s foreign affairs ministry, Price said, adding that US officials had briefed allies and partners over the incident.
Ukrainian officials have said a Russian missile hit a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday.
The rocket killed at least one person and injured three others, said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The city of Kramatorsk is just over 50km away from the frontline city of Bakhmut, which has seen some of the most intense fighting anywhere in Ukraine since Russia invaded last year.
Ukraine: Russian missile hits residential blocks in Kramatorsk – video
Drone incident 'unsafe and unprofessional', says White House
Here’s more from the White House spokesperson John Kirby on the incident over the Black Sea in which a Russian Su-27 fighter jet struck the propeller of a US military surveillance drone.
Joe Biden was briefed about the incident, Kirby told reporters. He added that state department officials would be “speaking directly” with their Russian counterparts and “expressing our concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept”.
Kirby said that while there have been other such intercepts, this one was noteworthy because it was “unsafe and unprofessional” and caused the downing of a US aircraft. “So it’s unique in that regard,” he said.
The incident would not deter the US from operating over the Black Sea, he said.
The Black Sea belongs to no one nation. And we’re going to continue to do what we need to do for our national security interests in that part of the world.
Nato’s top military commander, Gen Christopher Cavoli, has informed allies about an incident over the Black Sea involving a Russian fighter jet and a US military drone, according to a Nato official.
The White House spokesperson John Kirby has been speaking about a Russian fighter jet that collided with a US military drone over the Black Sea earlier today.
Kirby said it was not uncommon for there to be intercepts by Russian aircraft of US aircraft over the Black Sea, but “this one is noteworthy because of how unsafe and unprofessional it was”.
From Voice of America’s Patsy Widakuswara:
Clarifying this to: Apparently INTERCEPTS bw Russian aircrafts & US drones are not uncommon, per John Kirby of NSC. He reiterated the MQ-9 drone was operating in international airspace over international waters, posting threats to nobody.
Russian fighter jet collides with US drone over Black Sea
A Russian Su-27 fighter jet has collided with a US military drone over the Black Sea, causing the drone to crash, according to the US military.
The American MQ-9 Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets were conducting a routine operation in international airspace when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, according to a US official familiar with the incident.
In a statement, Gen James Hecker, who overseas the US air force in the region, said:
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.
In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.
US and allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely.
Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, the top two Republicans in polling regarding the 2024 presidential nomination, have said defending Ukraine is not a vital US interest, in remarks that will demoralise Kyiv and encourage Vladimir Putin to believe that time is on his side.
Trump, a longstanding Putin admirer, has been consistently sceptical about US support for Ukraine, and has suggested he could broker a peace deal, involving Ukraine surrendering territory. DeSantis had previously tried to dodge questions on Ukraine, and his new comments are likely to shift sentiment in the Republican party further from support of Ukraine.
Both men answered a questionnaire from Tucker Carlson, the primetime Fox News host, who posted the responses to Twitter.
DeSantis, the governor of Florida, said the US should not “become further entangled” in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump, the former president who dominates polling, said the Ukraine war was not a vital US interest “but it is for Europe … that is why Europe should be paying far more than we are, or equal”.
Zelenskiy and Ukrainian military ‘agree to continue defending Bakhmut’
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his military chiefs have “expressed a common position” to keep defending the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian leader’s office has said.
General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said the defence of Bakhmut was of “paramount strategic importance”. “It is key to the stability of the defence of the entire front,” he said.
In a statement, Zelenskiy’s office said the Ukrainian president and top government officials and military commanders had discussed the situation in Bakhmut, where Russian and Ukraine forces are taking heavy casualties.
It said:
After considering the defensive operation in the Bakhmut direction, all … expressed a common position to continue holding and defending the city of Bakhmut.
Zelenskiy and the military command also discussed the pace and scale of the supply of weapons and equipment from Ukraine’s western allies, and how to allocate them to the troops, it said.