The United States on Tuesday condemned a Russian jet's "reckless" collision with one of its drone over the Black Sea that led to the destruction of the American aircraft.
A Russian Su-27 jet fighter collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, the US military's European Command said.
"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9," said US Air Force General James Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa.
"In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash."
Russian intercepts in the area are common, but this one "is noteworthy because of how unsafe and unprofessional it was, indeed reckless that it was," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists.