Russian defence minister slams US for spying on Moscow after drone crash
- Russian Defence Ministry said that it will proportionally respond to any provocations from United States
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday told US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, that Washington's increased intelligence gathering against Moscow has led to the drone incident. This comes a day after a Russian Su-27 warplane collided with US Reaper surveillance drones over the Black Sea.
The incident worsens the already strained relationship between the United States and Russia with both countries accusing each other of the collision. The US called the Russian flying operations unsafe and unprofessional while Moscow has maintained that the downing of the drone was not deliberate and occurred due to increased US activities in the area.
Russian Defence Minister said that the incident was a result of "increased intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation" and "non-compliance with the restricted flight zone" declared by Moscow due to its military operations in Ukraine.
The defense ministry added that Russia will proportionally respond to future US provocations. "Flights of American strategic unmanned aerial vehicles off the coast of Crimea are provocative in nature, which creates pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone," the ministry said.
"Russia is not interested in such a development of events, but it will continue to respond proportionately to all provocations," it added.
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Washington and Moscow traded barbs on multiple occasions. The United States has sanctioned Russia and is even helping Ukraine with arms to fight against the Russian forces.
Russia has warned of leveling up the attacks several times and has also cautioned that the option of using nuclear weapons remains open.
A report from the US Annual Threat assessment claimed that as Russian President Vladimir Putin is not getting the expected war results in Ukraine, he might consider dragging America into war to win back public support.
(With inputs from AFP)
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First Published:16 Mar 2023, 05:27 PM IST
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