Escalation in the Black Sea. Why did Russia knock down the drone MQ-9 Reaper and what will the US answer be

The incident occurred in international waters with the participation of Russian Su-27 fighter jets. As a result, the drone fell and sank. It is known that one of the fighters intentionally dropped the fuel in front of the American drone, in turn the other - made a maneuver, which damaged the propeller. The US political leadership called this incident a manifestation of unprofessionalism and recklessness.

But it noted that they would continue their activities in the Air and Water Space of the Black Sea. "We are going to continue flying and acting in international airspace over international waters. The Black Sea does not belong to any nation. And we are going to continue to do what we need for our national security interests in this part of the world," CNN said CNN Coordinator of the National Security Council John Kirby's strategic communications.

Kirby recalled that the US is flying in the area constantly during the year. In his turn, the Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov reported that in this way the Kremlin informed that he identified space over the Black Sea as a zone of conducting a so -called "special military operation". "We prefer not to create situations where we can face unintentional clashes or unintentional incidents between the Russian Federation and the US," Antonov CNN reports.

It is important to note that Russian fighters did not knock down MQ-9 Reaper using weapons. The drone lost control and fell precisely through the deliberate actions of military pilots, who further provoked the disaster. That is, the pilot intentionally dropped a certain amount of fuel on the apparatus. "Drone did not knock down with the use of weapons. He was disabled with certain actions. Therefore, we did not see any effective answer other than political statements.

Believe It was, so now it is statement, " - says Focus military expert Petro Chernik. Recall that the MQ-9 Reaper drone is modern development of the United States. His first flight took place in early 2001, and the cost of one unit reaches more than $ 10 million without taking into account the equipment it carries. The maximum duration of the MQ-9 REAPER UAV is from 28 hours to 33 hours. This is not the first loss of the US MQ-9 Reaper-in 2017 and 2019 drones were beaten in Yemen.

Last year, the scout suffered a disaster during the event for a Romanian military base. The destruction of an American valuable scout, who was systematically located in the airspace above the Black Sea, is necessary, first of all, for the Russian internal user. The Kremlin should show the "victory over the collective event" and the determination of its intentions to protect the territory.

They are well aware that the incident provokes some NATO escalation - the Alliance representatives almost emphasize that they do not seek any armed confrontation with the Russian Federation. As of the second half of March 15, NATO officials did not publicly commented on the situation. Quite restrained statements were heard from US Allied Defense Ministers out of NATO - in Aukus. The UK Defense Minister Ben Volles stated that Moscow should respect the international airspace.

"The key here is that all parties respect the international airspace, and we urge the Russians to do it. The Americans said they consider it unprofessional," the minister said in a comment by Reuters. His Australian colleague Richard Marls noted that the Russian Federation continues to play the rules. "I think this is again an example of the fact that Russia does not play the rules that, in fact, is put on a map throughout the conflict in Ukraine. Said the minister.

Recall that the Aukus defense pact was created in September 2021 between Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA. Actually their abbreviations and made to the name - Australia, United Kingdom, United States. "Putin has a catastrophic defeat in Ukraine, they cannot achieve anything, even take Bakhmut. Therefore, it takes an explanation why the so -called tightened. This is a classic example Propaganda launches narratives that the war in Ukraine is coming with NATO.

Simonyan has already stated that Ukraine has won two days, and now they are fighting with NATO. This product for the domestic Russian user needs victories that are trying to create even in this way, " - explains Chernik. . According to political expert Dmitry Snegirev, the Kremlin is trying to act preventive to the announced Ukrainian counter -offensive. There is a kind of play to increase the rates and stress of the situation. "Russia goes Va-Bank on the eve of Ukrainian counter-offensive.

In this way, they try to designate their red lines, saying Crimea-a sovereign territory The course of military scales, " - says the expert. Experts remind that such behavior is inherent in the Russian totalitarian political elite. A similar situation happened in the late 1980s between Soviet and American warships. It is a collision of the sides in February 1988 in the Black Sea of ​​Ships "Unconditional" and SKR-6 with "Yorktown" and "Karon".

Or a fresh provocation against the British warship of HMS Defender, which in 2021 went from Odessa to Georgia through the coastal waters of the temporarily occupied Crimea. Experts interviewed by focus are convinced that the US response to provocation of the Russian Federation is not only exhausted by political statements and diplomatic meetings. From the beginning of a full -scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has constantly violated the rules of international law and provokes NATO allies.

However, this answer may not be in the near future. "In my opinion, all political forces that are in favor of transferring additional weapons are now being activated in the US establishment. It is about fighter jets, long -range ATACMS rockets and radio -electronic warfare. In addition, it will be a modification of sanctions to completely block them. First of all, it concerns the entry into the territory of the Russian chips, which are needed in the military industry, " - says Chernik.

Dmitry Snegirev suggests that it will be a combined answer, which will include increased economic sanctions, expansion of logistics for Ukraine. "That is, we can finally receive the weapons that we have been asking for a long period of time. It is about the aviation component and the long -range missiles. Creating a certain aviation coalition on the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine," the expert says.

Recall that the United States does not exclude the possibility of transferring to Ukraine modern combat fighters. One of the possible options is re -export permission from other countries. By the end, by the end of 2022, Australia Air Force plans to remove their f/a-18a/b hornet fighters from weapons. They are now actively replaced by modern multi-purpose F-35a Lightnings II fighters.