Prevented a violation: Shoigu presented the crews of the Su-27 to the awards after the incident with the American drone

The head of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation presented pilots of Su-27 aircraft to the awards after the incident in the Black Sea.

"The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Sergei Shoigu, presented for awarding state awards to the pilots of Su-27 aircraft that prevented the violation by the American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle of the boundaries of the area of the temporary regime for the use of airspace established for the purpose of conducting a special military operation," the ministry said in a statement.

As previously reported in the Ministry of Defense, on the morning of March 14, a flight of an American MQ-9 UAV in the direction of the Russian border was recorded over the Black Sea near the Crimea by means of airspace control.

The drone moved with the transponders turned off in violation of the boundaries of the area of the temporary regime for the use of airspace established for the purpose of conducting a special operation.

The ministry stressed that the boundaries of the area were brought to all users of international airspace and published in accordance with international standards.

To identify the intruder, fighters from the air defense duty forces were lifted into the air. The drone, as a result of sharp maneuvering, went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface.

Russian fighters did not use on-board weapons and did not come into contact with the American UAV. Subsequently, the Russian pilots safely returned to the home airfield.

At the same time, the European Command of the US Armed Forces stated that the Russian Su-27 aircraft touched the propeller of the American MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea. Later, a video was also published, in the explanation of which it was claimed that two Russian Su-27 aircraft allegedly "made an unsafe and unprofessional interception" of an American UAV.

Also on the russian.rt.com Warning reception: what could lead to the fall of the American UAV MQ-9 Reaper into the Black Sea

In addition, shortly after the incident, the State Department summoned the Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov. The diplomat during the visit denied accusations against the Russian military. The diplomatic mission subsequently issued a statement by the ambassador, in which he stated Moscow's concern about the unacceptable activities of the US military in the immediate vicinity of the Russian borders.

Telephone conversation between Shoigu and Austin

On the evening of March 15, it became known that the incident in the Black Sea was discussed by the heads of the defense departments of Russia and the United States. The corresponding conversation took place at the initiative of the American side.

As Sergei Shoigu emphasized during a conversation with his American counterpart, the cause of the incident in the Black Sea was the actions of the United States to comply with the declared by the Russian Federation flight restriction zone established in connection with the conduct of the CVO, as well as the strengthening of intelligence activities against Russian interests.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation noted that the flights of American strategic unmanned aerial vehicles off the coast of crimea are provocative, which creates the prerequisites for the escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone.

The statement also stressed that the Russian Federation is not interested in such a development of events, but Moscow will continue to respond to all provocations proportionately.

Also, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation noted that the largest nuclear powers should act as responsibly as possible, including maintaining military channels of communication to discuss any crisis situations.

Along with this, in the development of the conversation of the heads of defense departments, a telephone conversation was also held between the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov and the Chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Mark Milley. The content of this conversation in the Ministry of Defense was not published.

Against the background of the incident in the Black Sea, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Patrushev, subsequently said that Russia would try to raise the wreckage of the MQ-9 Reaper to the surface and "will do it without fail." In turn, the head of the SVR Sergey Naryshkin stressed that the Russian Federation has the technical capabilities to detect and study the wreckage of the American UAV.