The Russian Defense Ministry said that the American MQ-9 Reaper UAV drowned without the participation of Russian fighters. According to the military, the Su-27 fighters were only raised, as the drone "violated the boundaries of the temporary regime for the use of airspace."
“On the morning of March 14, over the Black Sea in the area of the Crimean Peninsula, the airspace control of the Russian Aerospace Forces recorded the flight of an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle in the direction of the state border of the Russian Federation. The flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle was carried out with transponders turned off, violating the boundaries of the area of the temporary regime for the use of airspace, established for the purpose of conducting a special military operation, communicated to all users of international airspace and published in accordance with international standards.
In order to identify the intruder, fighters from the air defense forces on duty were raised into the air. As a result of sharp maneuvering around 9.30 (Moscow time), the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface . The Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons, they did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to their base airfield.”
Earlier, The Insider wrote that a Russian Su-27 fighter and an American UAV MQ-9 Reaper collided over the Black Sea. Because of this, the American air force had to sink its drone in the neutral waters of the Black Sea. This is reported by the European Command of the US Armed Forces. A Russian Su-27 was also nearly lost, General James Hecker, commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, said.