Russian Jet Collides With American Drone Over the Black Sea

A Russian fighter plane collided into a United States surveillance drone causing it to crash into the Black Sea on March 14. Two Su-27 fighters were provoking and pouring fuel onto the MQ-9 “Reaper” drone before one of the Russian fighters clipped the drone’s propeller. The American drone plummeted deep into the Black Sea’s waters. However, Russia denies making contact with the drone.

Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional. This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with U.S. and allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.
—James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe

U.S. provocation: According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the U.S. drone went down because it made a “sharp maneuver” and lost control of its flight pattern. The Defense Ministry said Russian authorities only scrambled fighters to intercept the U.S. drone because it had intruded on Russian airspace.

The Russian fighters did not use their onboard weapons, did not come into contact with the uav [unmanned aerial vehicle], and returned safely to their home airfield.
—Russian Defense Ministry

Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., said the drone’s encroachment was a “provocation” by the U.S.; however, he said Russia does not want to get into an unnecessary confrontation:

The unacceptable activity of the U.S. military in close proximity to our borders is a cause for concern. They are collecting intelligence, which is subsequently used by the Kyiv regime to strike at our armed forces and territory.

Evidence to the contrary: John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesperson, told reporters on a conference call that the drone had stayed in international airspace:

We have been flying over that airspace consistently now for a year … and we’re going to continue to do that.

A Pentagon spokesperson also said the U.S. Department of Defense has video evidence of the collision that it could declassify.

Fear in Europe: Russia’s relationship with the U.S. is being heavily tested over the Ukraine conflict. But Russia’s harassment is most concerning to those in Europe, especially in neighboring territories.

Bible prophecy says that fear in Europe will cause 10 of its nations to come together and form one giant European superpower. This superpower will then clash with an Asian conglomerate of nations led by Russia. This fear has been simmering in Europe for years now, and the more aggressive Russia gets, the more the stage is set for these prophecies to be fulfilled.

Learn more: Read “The Crimean Crisis Is Reshaping Europe!” and Russia and China in Prophecy.