The US White House called insulting the awarding of Su-27 pilots for intercepting a drone in the Black Sea

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council, found it offensive to award pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces who intercepted an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.

“I have no idea why they gave a bravery award to a pilot who, at worst, deliberately put himself and American property at great risk, and at best, was simply an idiot,” said John Kirby (quoted from The Hill). He said he was not aware of “any army in the world” that rewarded a pilot for “crashing into a drone.”

Yesterday, March 22, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu awarded pilots Vasily Vavilov and Sergei Popov orders of Courage and Gold Star medals for preventing an American drone from violating the airspace of a special operation zone.

The MQ-9 Reaper UAV of the US Air Force was discovered in the Black Sea on the morning of March 14. Russian Su-27 fighter jets were launched into the air. The planes, as reported in the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry, did not use weapons, the drone itself “went into uncontrolled flight, lost altitude and collided with water.” The American side stated that the MQ-9 performed reconnaissance functions and was not equipped with weapons.

Read about what happens after the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine in the online broadcast of Kommersant.

Alexander Kislov