US tells Russia it will fly 'wherever' int'l law allows after drone downed

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Wednesday he told his Russian counterpart the US will "continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows" after a Russian jet collided with an American drone, causing it to crash into the Black Sea.

"It's important that great powers be models of transparency and communication," Austin told reporters at the Pentagon after speaking with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu following the incident Tuesday. "It is incumbent upon Russia to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner."

The incident occurred after two Russian SU-27 fighter jets "conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept" of a US MQ-9 Reaper, including dumping fuel on the drone and flying in front of it "in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner," according to the US' European Command.

The drone was conducting reconnaissance when one of the SU-27 jets struck the propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper at roughly 7.03 a.m. CET (0603GMT), prompting the drone's operators to bring it down in international waters.

Austin's sentiments were echoed by Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley who maintained Washington does "not seek armed conflict with Russia," emphasizing the need to investigate the incident "and move on from there."

"But we will continue to exercise our rights in international airspace," he said alongside Austin, further noting that he has a telephone call scheduled with the Russian Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov.

Milley said the US knows the intercept of the American drone was intentional but has not formally determined if the Russian SU-27 fighter jet purposefully crashed into the MQ-9 Reaper.

"We know that the aggressive behavior was intentional. We also know it was very unprofessional and very unsafe. The actual contact of the fixed-wing Russian fighter with our UAV, the physical contact with those two, not sure yet. That remains to be seen," he said, using an acronym to refer to a drone.

Russia has denied that its aircraft collided with the US drone but Milley said the US has "absolute evidence of the contact."

The US is in the midst of efforts to declassify visual evidence of the incident, including video and still images. Austin said the Biden administration would "work through as quickly as we can to evaluate videos, and we'll let you know when we have something in terms of video or stills that" can be made public.

Turning to the war in Ukraine, Milley said a meeting of Kyiv's international supporters resulted in commitments to provide additional armaments, including Sweden's vow to send 10 Leopard tanks and air defense components. Norway pledged to send two NASAMS air-defense systems.

"Ukraine has been supplied by more than 40 countries. Meanwhile, Russia has had to depend on Iran and North Korea and has had to use equipment dating back to World War Two. So, Russia is running out of capability and running out of friends," said Austin.

Russian President Vladimir "Putin has now had a year's worth of proof that the United States and the Contact Group will support Ukraine's right to defend itself for the long haul. But Putin still hopes that he can wear down Ukraine and wait us out. So, we can't let up. And we won't," he added.