The OC “South”: atypical activity of Russians was noticed in the Black Sea — they are probably looking for an American drone
- Author:
- Anna Kholodnova
- Date:
The Defense Forces of Ukraine recorded atypical activity of the Russians in the Black Sea — they withdrew 20 ships and a lot of units of the auxiliary fleet.
This was reported by the spokeswoman of the Operational Command (OC) "South" Nataliia Humenyuk on the air of the telethon.
Among the 20 Russian vessels in the Black Sea are four missile carriers, one of which is underwater. The maximum volley they can fire is 28 missiles.
According to Humenyuk, the dispersion of Russian ships and many units of the auxiliary fleet may indicate that the Russians want to find the wreckage of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
According to the American military, the drone lies at a depth of more than a kilometer. It is very difficult to get, and the US, most likely, will not do it. Moscow announced that they would try to retrieve the wreckage of the drone. ABC News writes that Russian ships were spotted in the area of the Reaper crash.
The representative of the Pentagon General Patrick Ryder informed that, according to his data, the Russians have not yet been able to reach the wreckage of the drone.
According to the spokeswoman, the occupiers are trying to hide their actions from the Ukrainian military, but surveillance is yielding results — defenders of Ukraine see and understand the Russiansʼ steps forward.
- On March 14, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted and shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone over the Black Sea. At approximately 07:03, one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft engaged the propeller of the MQ-9, causing the drone to crash in international waters. Several times before the collision, the two Russian Su-27s jettisoned fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9 "in a reckless, environmentally unsafe and unprofessional manner."
- The Russian Defense Ministry has denied that any of its planes came into contact with the US drone and said the drone crashed due to "abrupt manoeuvring".
- The CNN channel reported that before the MQ-9 Reaper drone fell into the Black Sea, the US remotely removed its secret software.