Time.news – I Russian and American defense ministersSergei Shoigu e Lloyd Austin, they spoke on the phone, twenty-four hours after the incident in the skies of the Black Sea, when an American drone was intercepted by Russian planes. Moscow made it known.
The Russian Defense Ministry, which did not provide further details, added that the phone call took place “on US initiative”
“Luckily there is minimal openness to dialogue and the possibility of confrontation between Americans and Russians” on Ukraine, said the deputy premier and foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, during the recording of the episode of Porta a Porta. “Right now any line of contact between Russians and Americans, between Westerners and Russians, is essential“, continued Tajani. And “the two defense ministers were right to talk to each other and throw water on the fire” following the episode of the American drone damaged by Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea, continued the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Meanwhile, two planes of the British RAF and the German Air Force have intercepted a Russian military aircraft flying near Estonian airspace.
In their first joint NATO air policing operation, British and German Typhoon jets scrambled to respond to maneuvers by a Russian air-to-air refueling aircraft after it failed to communicate with the Estonian air traffic control tower. British pilots are currently conducting joint air policing missions in the country together with the German Air Force for the first time. The United Kingdom is currently preparing to take over the leadership of the NATO mission in Estonia from Germany.
The British Ministry of Defense stressed that the mission was “routine”. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said: “The joint deployment of the UK and Germany in the Baltics clearly demonstrates our collective determination to challenge any potential threat to NATO’s borders, while demonstrating our combined strength.” Sky News reports it.
The downed or crashed drone
Interception or collision: this dichotomy of military jargon is based on the case that has raised tension between the USA and Russia to levels never reached since the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At 7.30 on Tuesday morning, two Su-27 jets collided with a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.
The White House has taken the necessary measures to prevent the drone downed in the Black Sea “from falling into the wrong hands”. This was reported by the coordinator of the National Security Council, John Kirby, on CNN. “Without going into too much detail, what I can say is that we have taken steps to protect our stock with respect to that particular drone. And it is US property. Obviously we don’t want to see anyone get their hands on it other than us.” , has explained.
Already replaced the drone
The US drone that fell yesterday in the Black Sea after an accident with a Russian fighter has already been replaced by another aircraft, said the spokesman of the Ukrainian air force, Colonel Yuriy Ignat. “US aviation in the Black Sea is permanent. The Black Sea is not an internal sea of Russia,” Ignat told a joint news program broadcast by Ukrainian TV stations and reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
The military spokesman added that the United States “will evaluate the incident” involving the MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone, which also has combat capabilities, and the Russian Su-27 fighter, but said that “another drone is already operating at the site of the downed scout”
Tajani: “US and Russia should not seek the casus belli”
After the incident of the American drone hit and shot down yesterday over the Black Sea by Russian jets, “the signals being sent by Moscow and Washington are of firmness but the attempt is to try not to turn the matter into a casus belli”. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Sky Tg24. “There is resolve but no desire to escalate,” he added.