Washington claims that Moscow will attempt to retrieve a US Drone that crashed into the Black Sea after a collision with one of their fighter jets.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley, told reporters on Wednesday that the drone likely broke apart in the crash and was now deep below the surface of the Black Sea.
“The United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows, and it is incumbent upon Russia to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement to reporters.
John Kirby, White House national security spokesman, has said the U.S. is currently trying to stop what’s left of the drone from falling into the wrong hands. “We’ve taken steps to protect our equities with respect to that particular drone — that particular aircraft.” He followed up with, “We’re still assessing whether there can be any recovery effort mounted. There may not be.”
In his own statement, Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev said, “I don’t know whether we’ll be able to retrieve it or not but it has to be done. And we will certainly work on it. I am hoping for success, of course.” Following this televised statement, Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russian intelligence services, said the country has the “technical” capabilities to retrieve the drone.
The Black Sea is located in the southeastern part of Europe. Ukraine is to the north with Russia and Georgia to the east. As of Wednesday March 15th, the U.S. Navy does not have a presence in the Black Sea.