Award to pilots who shot down US drone in Russia

It has been reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has awarded the Russian fighter jet pilots who caused the downing of the US MQ-9 type unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Black Sea.

In the statement made by the Russian Defense Ministry, it was recalled that the US MQ-9 type UAV violated the temporary state area and crashed in the Black Sea. In the statement, it was stated that Shoigu rewarded the pilots of the Su-27 aircraft, which prevented the violation of Russian borders by the said UAV.

The US European Forces Command (EUCOM) announced on March 14 that two Russian Su-27 aircraft harassed the US MQ-9 type UAV in the Black Sea, and the MQ-9 crashed in international waters when one of the planes crashed.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that the US MQ-9 type UAV violated the temporary status area, which was notified to all airspace users in accordance with international standards, due to a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Shoigu and US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin spoke by phone about the downing of the UAV on March 15. (AA)