The Foreign Minister is convinced that until Russia leaves Crimea, incidents such as the shooting down of an American drone over the Black Sea are inevitable.

Russia shot down an American drone in the Black Sea. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called it a “routine incident.”

As long as Russia controls Crimea, the Black Sea will not be safe

Kuleba said he did not expect a diplomatic escalation from this and called it a “routine incident.”

As long as Russia controls Crimea, such incidents will be inevitable and the Black Sea will not be a safe place. Therefore, the only way to prevent such incidents is to actually expel Russia from Crimea,” Kuleba added.

He noted that if after that the West demonstrates its caution over the Black Sea, this will show its weakness in front of the Russians.

The minister clarified that there is no need to escalate, but it is also impossible to be subjected to pressure from Russia.

Earlier, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin promised that the military would “continue to fly and operate” where permitted by international law. And the Russians must act safely and professionally.

Briefly about the incident

• At about 7 am on March 14, one of the Russian Su-27s crashed into the propeller of an MQ-9 Reaper, a US UAV, forcing US forces to sink their drone in international waters.
• The US Air Force clarified that several times before the collision, 2 Su-27 aircraft tried to intercept an American MQ-9 drone by dropping fuel in front of it. Meanwhile, the Russians do not admit their guilt.
• The American drone performed an exclusively reconnaissance mission. The American side is currently preparing evidence related to the incident.