The US State Department on Wednesday summoned Russian Ambassador Anatoli Antonov to express concern about the collision between a Russian fighter jet and a US drone in the Black Sea. White House spokesman John Kirby said the US message is that Russia needs to be more careful in flying in international airspace. The US has not and may never recover the drone that crashed in the Black Sea, he added.

The Pentagon said a US Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle “was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft.”

The Russian Defense Ministry denied the report that its fighter jet had caused the crash. It said Russia's airspace control system detected an American MQ-9 drone flying over the Black Sea. This drone had its transponder turned off, violating the temporary airspace set up for special military operations, which has been communicated to all users of international airspace and is published under international standards.

The Russian Defense Ministry statement said the US drone "later lost control, lost altitude and crashed into the sea". The Russian fighter did not use weapons, did not come into close contact with the US drone and returned to base safely, the statement said.

Source: VOV5