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A Russian fighter jet has collided with a drone from the United States in the latest escalation of tensions between the two nations. The collision happened over the Black Sea on Tuesday a defense official said to Fox News.
“It was one of two Su-27’s flying. This happened in international airspace over international waters. The propeller to the drone was damaged and the drone landed in the Black Sea, west of Crimea, the U.S. defense official says. The Russian Su-27 was headed toward Crimea and landed there after this incident, the official says. It is unknown if there was any damage to the Su-27,” Fox News reported.
“A Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to a US official familiar with the incident. The Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets were operating over international waters over the Black Sea when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, according to the official. One of the jets then damaged the propeller of the Reaper, which is mounted on the rear of the drone, the official said. The damage to the propeller forced the US to bring down the Reaper in international waters in the Black Sea,” CNN reported.
“At approximately 7:03 AM (CET), one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters. Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” US Air Force Gen. James B.Hecker, commander, U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa said.
BREAKING: A Russian Su-27 jet collided with a U.S. Reaper drone over the Black Sea in international airspace over international waters.
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) March 14, 2023
The Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets were operating over international waters over the Black Sea when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, according to the official. https://t.co/siz8GFhg7j
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 14, 2023
It comes after Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was praised by many this week after his comments about the Ukraine-Russia war.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson sent a questionnaire out to DeSantis, former President Donald Trump, and all major prospective Republican presidential candidates last week. DeSantis responded by slamming President Joe Biden’s support of Ukraine and argued that it’s not “vital” to the United States to help the European nation fend off Russia’s invasion.
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis said in a statement.
“The Biden administration’s virtual ‘blank check’ funding of this conflict for ‘as long as it takes,’ without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country’s most pressing challenges,” he argued.
DeSantis accused Biden’s policies of pushing “Russia into a de facto alliance with China” and empowering “Russia’s energy-dominated economy and Putin’s war machine at Americans’ expense.”
“Our citizens are also entitled to know how the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are being utilized in Ukraine. We cannot prioritize intervention in an escalating foreign war over the defense of our own homeland, especially as tens of thousands of Americans are dying every year from narcotics smuggled across our open border and our weapons arsenals critical for our own security are rapidly being depleted,” DeSantis concluded in his questionnaire response, the New York Post reported.
Several on Twitter praised DeSantis for his remarks.
DeSantis to Tucker on Ukraine:
“We cannot prioritize intervention in an escalating foreign war over the defense of our own homeland.” pic.twitter.com/EkXYHdL1VE
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 14, 2023
DeSantis comes out against neocons on Ukraine. He says Washington has created a disastrous alliance between Russia and China while prioritizing Ukraine’s security over our own at a time when Americans are dying from drugs trafficked by cartels across the border. He’s right. https://t.co/R6MksbZFOp
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) March 14, 2023
Trump says WW3 will happen if Ukraine-Russia escalates. DeSantis calls it a border dispute that the US should have no involvement in and that the focus should be on fixing America’s domestic problems. Noem says sanctions are useless and America’s focus should be on competing with… https://t.co/ZgBJ2ZqOan
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 14, 2023
He’s right. It really isn’t vital for US interest.
It only helps a select few who have investments in Ukraine.
— Adam Alfi (@AdamAlfi) March 14, 2023
https://twitter.com/JamesBradleyCA/status/1635625037020696576
Trump issued a similar response to the questionnaire.
“No, but it is for Europe,” adding that European allies “should be paying far more than we are, or equal.”
Carlson’s questionnaire also asked: “What specifically is our objective in Ukraine, and how will we know when we’ve achieved it?”
Trump said the objective is to “help and secure Europe, but Europe isn’t helping itself,” telling Carlson it’s “very unfair” for the U.S. to largely foot the bill, especially since Europe “takes advantage of us on trade and other things.”
“Both sides are weary and ready to make a deal. The meetings should start immediately, there is no time to spare. The death and destruction must end now!” Trump said.
