Russia's crackdown on an American drone over the Black Sea has found repercussions in both Moscow and Washington. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday awarded two pilots of Su-27 fighter jets with "Courage Medals." According to the version of the Moscow military on March 14, they had prevented the drone from violating "boundaries of airspace" drawn for the "special operation". This is what Russia calls its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Friedrich Schmidt
Political correspondent for Russia and the CIS in Moscow.
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According to the American account, however, the reconnaissance drone of the type "MQ-9 Reaper" crashed into the sea after an "unsafe/unprofessional" Russian interception operation, which had taken place in international airspace. A video of the drone shows how fuel is dumped twice in front of the drone; then the drone is apparently rammed, after the collision one of its propellers is bent.
Kirby: Wouldn't award such soldiers
In a Russian video recording, the pilots are seen receiving applause while Minister Shoigu attaches the medals to them. Soon after, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked about the awards.
He knows of no other military "that would reward a pilot for crashing into a drone," said Kirby, a former rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. "If that's courage, I think she's another... have a different definition of it. It's ridiculous. It's offensive," Kirby continued.
It is not known whether the Russian pilot intentionally wanted to ram the drone, but he rammed it, Kirby said. In the navy, in which he, Kirby, grew up, it is important to avoid bumping into anything, which is "bad for you".
He, Kirby, has "no idea" why they would "give a courage medal to a pilot who, at worst, maliciously exposed himself and U.S. property to great risk and was at best just an idiot."