On Monday, a Russian newspaper reported that the country’s military might have shot down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea. This claim, initially propagated by Russian military bloggers, suggests that a Russian MiG-31 interceptor shot down an American RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV. The Kremlin and Russian Defense Ministry have not confirmed the incident, and U.S. officials have denied the report.
The popular Fighterbomber Telegram channel, known for its close ties to the Kremlin, first circulated the information. The channel hinted that a U.S. drone had been downed over the Black Sea and later suggested that President Vladimir Putin had praised the pilot involved. Despite these claims, no concrete evidence has been presented to substantiate the incident.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, “To be honest, I don’t have this kind of information,” when asked about the alleged downing.
Ukrainian military bloggers and open-source intelligence accounts have been skeptical of the claims, noting the absence of video evidence from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Pro-Russian bloggers celebrated the supposed downing, with Fighterbomber suggesting that future flights by U.S. drones would indicate their acceptance of such losses. Despite the speculative nature of these reports, they have fueled further tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S.
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