The Russians expected to get a downed American drone from the Black Sea. They intended to introduce him to Xi Jinping during his visit to Russia.

This was told to Channel 24 by Ivan Stupak, an ex-employee of the SBU, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future. According to him, the Russians sought to study in detail the development of drones in the United States.

Souvenir for China

Ivan Stupak stressed that, according to some reports, Russian pilots tried to shoot down a drone 19 times.

And the main goal was to shoot down this drone, but, as the football players say, fair play is without hands. It was supposed to fall, but without the use of a regular gun, rockets, – he explained.

In his opinion, the Russians really expected that this drone could be picked up, then disassembled and gain access to cutting-edge technologies: microelectronics, optics.

“I don't think the Russians could replicate it, but I think they were pursuing the goal of donating this drone to China,” Stupak focused.

According to him, presenting such a gift to the head of China could have a positive impact on military assistance from the country and its position on the war against Ukraine.

This drone could be a big gift, after which the Chinese would say: “Wow! Thank you for the gift. Everything. What did you want there? 700,000 shells? Take it! 10,000 small drones? Take it!” he said.

However, the Russians miscalculated somewhat.

Russia's plan didn't work

A former SBU officer said that, according to the Americans, they still managed to remove all information from the UAV.

“I think that there is such an algorithm and protocols that in the case when a drone falls under certain circumstances, then all the information on it is destroyed, as well as sensitive microelectronics,” he said.

Stupak added that the depth of the sea at the place where the drone was shot down is up to one and a half kilometers.

The Russians will not be able to get it just with a net, he is convinced.

In addition, Russia is indeed playing with fire, even though the US response to the incident was rather laconic and restrained.

US-Russian incident beneficial to Ukraine

Ivan Stupak explained that until that moment, some Americans still did not understand the seriousness of Russian aggression, because they are separated by 9,000 kilometers from the battlefield.

However, the situation is perceived in a completely new way after the downing of a drone by the Russians, the cost of which is $ 30 million. No one is immune from the fact that such a prank will not happen again. Therefore, the US reaction will be, but in a modified format.

I think that latently the Americans will increase their assistance to the Ukrainians. I won’t say that it’s on airplanes right away, but it could be long-range missiles, an additional Patriot complex, drones, perhaps not of this class, but a little less,” he stressed.

In his opinion, in any case, such a daring situation is a great incentive for the United States to provide Ukraine with additional assistance in order to somehow take revenge on the Russians.

Beating the MQ-9 Reaper: latest news

• Around 07:00 on March 14, a Russian Su-27 crashed into an MQ-9 drone. Therefore, US forces sank the MQ-9 in international waters.
• Russia comes up with versions that the drone allegedly fell by itself or that it threatened Russia, although this is not true.
• Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about the incident over the Black Sea.
• US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the actions of the Russian pilots were dangerous and unprofessional and could have “provoked a much bigger incident.”