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Havariet ble forårsaket av at en autoritær stat tar seg til rette i internasjonalt luftrom slik Kina gjør i Sør Kinahavet. Jeg minner om at russerne har gjort det samme nord for Finnmarkskysten for et års tid siden uten at Norge. meg bekjent, reagerte på det. (Red.)

Russian pilots who forced US drone to crash near Ukraine to be honored with state awards

By 

DOUG G. WARE

STARS AND STRIPES • March 17, 2023

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This screenshot is from a video released by U.S. European Command showing one of two Russian fighter jets buzzing past a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. One of the Russian jets later collided with the U.S. aircraft. ()

Two Russian pilots who harassed a U.S. drone over the Black Sea this week and caused it to crash into waters near Ukraine will receive military awards for their actions, a top Russian official said Friday.

Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu said the pilots will be decorated with state awards for refusing to allow a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone on Tuesday to “violate the airspace restricted for use during the special military operation” in Ukraine. Special military operation is the phrase that the Russian government uses to describe its war in Ukraine, which was a former Soviet Union republic before the fall of the USSR in the early 1990s.

The Pentagon has rejected Moscow’s claims. U.S defense officials have said the drone was flying through international airspace on a regular surveillance mission when a pair of Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted it.

Shoigu did not name the pilots who were involved in the incident or specify exactly what award they will receive. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he’s spoken to Shoigu by phone and promised American aircraft will continue to fly anywhere that’s allowed by international law.

U.S. officials said the Russian jets initially dumped fuel on the drone. Almost an hour later, one of the pilots clipped the drone’s rear propeller with his aircraft, damaging it enough that U.S. Air Force officials had to let it crash into the Black Sea. The Pentagon said Thursday that U.S. defense officials aren’t certain whether the pilot wanted to hit the drone.