{"id":4874,"date":"2023-03-17T18:11:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T18:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=4874"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:39:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:39:41","slug":"russia-gives-state-award-to-the-pilots-involved-in-us-drone-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/analysis\/defense\/war\/russia-gives-state-award-to-the-pilots-involved-in-us-drone-incident\/2023\/03\/17\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia gives state award to the pilots involved in US drone incident"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW<\/span> (Brussels Independent in collaboratio with TASS and AP)<\/span> –<\/span> A<\/span> Russian<\/span> fighter<\/span> pilot<\/span> involved<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> incident<\/span> involving<\/span> a<\/span> US<\/span> drone<\/span> that<\/span> led<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> crash<\/span> will<\/span> receive<\/span> a<\/span> state<\/span> award,<\/span> the<\/span> Defense<\/span> Ministry<\/span> said<\/span> Friday.<\/span> The<\/span> move<\/span> appears<\/span> to<\/span> signal<\/span> Moscow’s<\/span> intention<\/span> to<\/span> take<\/span> a<\/span> more<\/span> aggressive<\/span> stance<\/span> against<\/span> future<\/span> US<\/span> patrols.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> U.S.<\/span> military<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> Air<\/span> Force’s<\/span> MQ-12<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Black<\/span> Sea<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> after<\/span> two<\/span> Russian<\/span> fighter<\/span> jets<\/span> dumped<\/span> fuel<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> drone,<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> which<\/span> hit<\/span> a<\/span> propeller<\/span> while<\/span> flying<\/span> in<\/span> international<\/span> airspace.<\/span> 9<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> ran<\/span> aground<\/span> his<\/span> Reaper.<\/span> Moscow<\/span> has<\/span> denied<\/span> that<\/span> his<\/span> country’s<\/span> fighter<\/span> plane<\/span> hit<\/span> the<\/span> drone,<\/span> claiming<\/span> it<\/span> went<\/span> down<\/span> during<\/span> a<\/span> sharp<\/span> maneuver.<\/span> It<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> fighter<\/span> was<\/span> responding<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> violation<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> no-fly<\/span> zone<\/span> Russia<\/span> imposed<\/span> on<\/span> an<\/span> area<\/span> near<\/span> Crimea<\/span> during<\/span> the<\/span> fighting<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span> On<\/span> Friday,<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Sergei<\/span> Shoigu<\/span> praised<\/span> pilots<\/span> for<\/span> blocking<\/span> drones<\/span> from<\/span> flying<\/span> into<\/span> areas<\/span> Moscow<\/span> has<\/span> banned.<\/span> The<\/span> Pentagon<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> ban<\/span> was<\/span> “consistent<\/span> with<\/span> international<\/span> standards.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Moscow,<\/span> a<\/span> day<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.<\/span> military<\/span> released<\/span> a<\/span> declassified<\/span> 42-second<\/span> color<\/span> video<\/span> of<\/span> him<\/span> showing<\/span> his<\/span> Russian<\/span> Su-27<\/span> fighter<\/span> jet<\/span> approaching<\/span> the<\/span> back<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> U.S.<\/span> drone<\/span> and<\/span> releasing<\/span> fuel<\/span> in<\/span> flight.<\/span> was<\/span> announced.<\/span> Optics<\/span> to<\/span> drive<\/span> them<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> area.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> same<\/span> jet<\/span> chasing<\/span> the<\/span> MQ-9<\/span> or<\/span> another<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> Su-27s<\/span> from<\/span> Russia<\/span> hit<\/span> the<\/span> drone’s<\/span> propeller<\/span> on<\/span> his<\/span> second<\/span> approach,<\/span> damaging<\/span> the<\/span> blade,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> military.<\/span> Video<\/span> excerpts<\/span> do<\/span> not<\/span> show<\/span> a<\/span> collision,<\/span> but<\/span> propeller<\/span> damage.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>U.S.<\/span> and<\/span> Russian<\/span> defense<\/span> and<\/span> military<\/span> heads<\/span> spoke<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> about<\/span> the<\/span> drone’s<\/span> destruction,<\/span> underscoring<\/span> the<\/span> seriousness<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> event.<\/span> The<\/span> meeting<\/span> between<\/span> US<\/span> Defense<\/span> Secretary<\/span> Lloyd<\/span> Austin,<\/span> Chairman<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Joint<\/span> Chiefs<\/span> of<\/span> Staff<\/span> General<\/span> Mark<\/span> Milley,<\/span> Russian<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Sergei<\/span> Shoigu<\/span> and<\/span> Russian<\/span> Chief<\/span> of<\/span> Staff<\/span> General<\/span> Valery<\/span> Gerasimov<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> since<\/span> October.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> White<\/span> House<\/span> called<\/span> on<\/span> Russia<\/span> to<\/span> act<\/span> “recklessly”<\/span> but<\/span> tried<\/span> to<\/span> avoid<\/span> escalating<\/span> tensions.U.S.<\/span> officials<\/span> cannot<\/span> determine<\/span> whether<\/span> Russian<\/span> pilots<\/span> intentionally<\/span> attacked<\/span> U.S.<\/span> drones<\/span> He<\/span> stressed<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> lines<\/span> of<\/span> communication<\/span> with<\/span> Moscow<\/span> remain<\/span> open.<\/span> Russian<\/span> officials<\/span> also<\/span> stressed<\/span> the<\/span> need<\/span> to<\/span> maintain<\/span> lines<\/span> of<\/span> communication,<\/span> but<\/span> condemned<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.<\/span> action<\/span> for<\/span> its<\/span> arrogant<\/span> disregard<\/span> for<\/span> Moscow’s<\/span> no-fly<\/span> zone.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“This<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> clear<\/span> sign<\/span> that<\/span> Russia<\/span> will<\/span> continue<\/span> to<\/span> shoot<\/span> down<\/span> American<\/span> drones,”<\/span> wrote<\/span> pro-Kremlin<\/span> political<\/span> analyst<\/span> Sergey<\/span> Markov<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> comment<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> award<\/span> announcement.<\/span> “This<\/span> decision<\/span> has<\/span> strong<\/span> support<\/span> from<\/span> Russian<\/span> society,<\/span> who<\/span> want<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> to<\/span> step<\/span> up<\/span> its<\/span> policies.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Moscow,<\/span> amid<\/span> strong<\/span> international<\/span> condemnation,<\/span> has<\/span> repeatedly<\/span> expressed<\/span> concern<\/span> over<\/span> US<\/span> intelligence<\/span> activities<\/span> near<\/span> Crimea,<\/span> which<\/span> Russia<\/span> seized<\/span> from<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> in<\/span> 2014.<\/span> It<\/span> accuses<\/span> it<\/span> of<\/span> effectively<\/span> interfering<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> conflict<\/span> by<\/span> sharing<\/span> information<\/span> with<\/span> Kiev.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Some<\/span> Russian<\/span> officials<\/span> have<\/span> accused<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> surveillance<\/span> flights<\/span> of<\/span> helping<\/span> gather<\/span> intelligence<\/span> that<\/span> allowed<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> to<\/span> strike<\/span> Russian<\/span> targets.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW (Brussels Independent in collaboratio with TASS and AP) – A Russian fighter pilot involved in an incident involving a US drone that led to a crash will receive a state award, the Defense Ministry said Friday. The move appears to signal Moscow’s intention to take a more aggressive stance against future US patrols. The […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[276,26,280,2425,2480,2482],"tags":[1957,1958,1959,2074,2075,154,2076,1227,2077,1941,2078,1944,2079,1945,2080,1947,1949,1950,1953,1954,1955],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/russiaprde.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4876,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4874\/revisions\/4876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}