Russia awards pilots from US drone crash
- Russia presented state awards to jet crew who prevented US drone ‘from violating (Russia’s) temporary airspace’, defence ministry said
- US released footage Thursday of what it said showed Moscow’s planes bearing down on drone; Russia says drone was downed after it lost control
Russia’s defence ministry said on Friday that it had decorated pilots involved in an incident this week that led to the crash of an American drone over the Black Sea.
Washington released footage on Thursday of what it said showed Russian military jets bearing down on the unmanned aircraft and releasing fuel as it passes, in what appeared to be aimed at blinding its optical instruments to drive it from the area.
Moscow maintains the drone was downed after it lost control. The confrontation ratcheted up tensions between Moscow and Washington and spurred a rare phone call between senior US and Russian military officials.
“Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu presented state awards to the Su-27 pilots who prevented an American MQ-9 drone from violating (Russia’s) temporary airspace,” Moscow’s defence ministry said on Friday.
The move appears to signal Moscow’s intention to adopt a more aggressive stance towards future US surveillance flights.
While calling out Russia for “reckless” action, the White House also tried to avoid exacerbating tensions. US officials emphasised that they have not been able to determine whether the Russian pilot intentionally struck the American drone and stressed that lines of communication with Moscow remain open.