Warns US Planes To Stay Away From Their Airspace, Russia: This Confirms Their Involvement In War

Illustration of the MQ-9 US drone. (Wikimedia Commons/Fg Off Owen Chevertonv)

JAKARTA - Moscow warned Washington on Wednesday to stay away from its airspace, after US drones intercepted by Russian jets crashed in the Black Sea, the first direct confrontation between the two superpowers since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Washington and Moscow blame each other for the incident, which occurred in international airspace near the area claimed to have been annexed by Russia from Ukraine.

Moscow calls it evidence that the United States directly participates in the war, while Washington calls it an act of Russian carelessness.

Russia said it would try to find the wreckage of the drone from the sea. Meanwhile, Washington said the debris may never be found, and steps have been taken to ensure that Russia cannot obtain intelligence information from the debris.

"America continues to say they are not participating in military operations. This is the latest confirmation that they are directly participating in these activities, in the war," Kremlin Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.

As previously reported, the US military said two Russian Su-27 fighters had approached one of the MQ-9 drones in a reconnaissance mission over international waters.

The warplanes disrupted the drone and sprayed fuel at it, before one of the planes cut off the drone's propellers, causing it to fall into the sea.

"This incident shows a lack of competence other than being unsafe and unprofessional," said James B. Hecker, US air force commander in Europe.

Separately, White House spokesman John Kirby said US officials had told Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov Moscow should be more careful.

"The message is: Don't do this again," he said.

According to Russian information, there was no collision. The drone crashed after carrying out "sharp maneuvers", which "deliberately and provocatively" flew closer to Russian airspace. Moscow deployed its fighter aircraft to identify it.

"Unacceptable US military activity near our borders is deeply concerning," Ambassador Antonov said in a statement, accusing Washington of using drones to "collect intelligence information which was then used by the Kyiv regime to attack our armed forces and territory".

"Let's ask a rhetorical question: if, for example, a Russian striker drone appears near New York or San Francisco, how will the US Air Force and Navy react?" he said, calling on Washington to "stop making a surprise attack near the Russian border".

The Kremlin said there was no high-level contact with Washington over the incident, describing bilateral relations as "very regrettable".

Separately, Kyiv said the incident showed Moscow was willing to "expand the conflict zone" and involve other countries.

The United States is conducting routine surveillance flights in international airspace in the region. The United States has supported Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military aid, but said its troops were not directly involved in the war Moscow described as a conflict against Western combined forces.