Pentagon chief Austin held a telephone conversation with Shoigu

The head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Defense of Russia, Sergei Shoigu. The Russian government claims that the conversation was initiated by the American side. The Ministry of Defense did not provide other details.

The US Department of Defense confirmed that Austin spoke with Shoigu and clarified that the topic was the “recent unprofessional, dangerous and reckless behavior” of Russian pilots in the international airspace over the Black Sea, which caused an American drone to fall into the water.

According to the American TV channel CNN, in the near future the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milli also plans to hold a telephone conversation with the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. It is noted that the last time they talked was in December 2022.

The day before, the US authorities reported the crash in the Black Sea after a collision with a Russian fighter of its reconnaissance drone MQ-9 Reaper, which, as it is said, was performing a task in the legal international space. According to the US Defense Ministry, a Russian fighter jet flying to intercept the drone jammed its propeller, as a result of which American forces had to shoot down the drone. The reason for the incident in the Pentagon was called “incompetence” of the Russian pilots. The representative of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, also emphasized that the aircraft was in neutral airspace and that it did not pose a threat. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the crash of the drone, but did not provide details.

According to CNN, immediately after the incident, the US authorities remotely erased the confidential software from the drone. Before that, the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolay Patrushev said that Russia would try to raise the wreckage of the drone from the bottom of the Black Sea.

• The MQ-9 Reaper (“Reaper”) is considered the main attack drone in the US service. The drone can reach a speed of more than 400 km/h and stay in the air for up to 24 hours.