So now the first physical clash between Russia and the US in this war has occurred. According to the Pentagon, Russian warplanes harassed and then dumped fuel on an American MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace over the Black Sea on Tuesday morning. A Russian jet is said to have collided with a propeller of the drone.
The drone pilots stationed at the US base in Ramstein in Germany were only able to bring the 30 million dollar aircraft to a reasonably controlled crash while gliding.
Russia denies the American information and claims that the drone crashed after an “abrupt maneuver” without the intervention of Russian fighter jets. Given Moscow’s now habitual lies, anyone can make up their own mind which version of events is more believable.
Especially since what the Americans describe corresponds to a pattern of behavior that the Russian Air Force has been observing for some time.
