U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attend a virtual meeting of Ukraine Defense Contact Group, at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S. March 15, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS
WASHINGTON/KYIV 鈥� Washington鈥檚 top general said the crash of a U.S. surveillance drone after being intercepted by Russian jets showed Moscow鈥檚 increasingly aggressive behavior, while Russia warned Washington that flying drones near Crimea risked escalation.
A day after the U.S. drone went down over the Black Sea, defense ministers and military chiefs from the U.S. and Russia held rare telephone conversations on Wednesday, with relations at their lowest point in decades over Moscow鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow鈥檚 defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, told his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that American drone flights by Crimea鈥檚 coast 鈥渨ere provocative in nature鈥� and could lead to 鈥渁n escalation 鈥� in the Black Sea zone,鈥� a ministry statement said. Crimea is a peninsula that was part of Ukraine until Moscow annexed it by force in 2014.
Russia, the statement added 鈥渉ad no interest in such a development but will in future react in due proportion鈥� and the two countries should 鈥渁ct with a maximum of responsibility鈥�, including by having military lines of communication in a crisis.
Austin declined to offer any details of the call 鈥� including whether he criticized the Russian intercept.
But he reiterated at a news conference that the U.S. intended to continue flying where international law allowed and demanded Russian military aircraft operate in a safe and professional manner.
Austin appeared before reporters at the Pentagon alongside General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had a separate call with Russia鈥檚 Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
Trading accusations
The U.S. military has said two Russian Su-27 fighter planes approached its MQ-9 Reaper drone during a reconnaissance mission over the Black Sea鈥檚 international waters on Tuesday. The fighters harassed the drone and sprayed fuel on it before one clipped the drone鈥檚 propeller, causing it to crash into the sea.
According to Russia, there was no collision. The drone crashed after making 鈥渟harp maneuvers鈥�, having 鈥渄eliberately and provocatively鈥� flown close to Russian air space. Moscow had scrambled its fighters to identify it.
鈥淭here is a pattern of behavior recently where there is a little bit more aggressive actions being conducted by the Russians,鈥� Milley told reporters, saying it was unclear whether the Russian pilots intended to strike the drone.
Earlier, State Department spokesperson Ned Price, speaking to MSNBC, said the incident was most likely an unintentional act by Russia.
While battles between Ukrainian troops and Russian forces raged on in eastern Ukraine, the drone incident on Tuesday was the first known direct U.S.-Russia encounter since Moscow鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine about a year ago.
Russia said the episode showed the U.S. was directly participating in the Ukraine war, something the West has taken pains to avoid.
鈥淭he Americans keep saying they鈥檙e not taking part in military operations. This is the latest confirmation that they are directly participating in these activities 鈥� in the war,鈥� Kremlin Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.
The United States has supported Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military aid but says its troops have not become directly engaged in the war, which Moscow portrays as a conflict against the combined might of the West.
Kyiv, for its part, said the drone crash showed Moscow was willing to expand the conflict zone to draw in other countries.
Bakhmut battle continues
On the ground in Ukraine, Russia kept up its push to capture the small eastern city of Bakhmut and secure its first substantial victory in more than half a year. Milley said Russia was making small advances near Bakhmut but at great cost.
Ukraine鈥檚 President Volodymyr Zelensky said his military top brass had advised reinforcing Bakhmut.
Kyiv had appeared last month to be preparing to pull out of the city but has since decided to defend it, saying it is exhausting Russia鈥檚 attacking force there to pave the way for its own counter-attack.
To the north of Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops in a bombed out village near the city of Kreminna were battling to counter what they said was an attempt by Russia to undertake a giant pincer move.
鈥淭he Russians try to adapt in real time,鈥� said a member of a drone unit call-signed 鈥淶ara鈥�. 鈥淭his makes great problems for us, because we have to think a couple of steps ahead 鈥� how do successfully complete the mission and not let the enemy know how we did it.鈥�
Further south, in the Ukrainian-held town of Avdiivka, Donetsk Region police released video showing the evacuation of citizens, including 9-year-old Daryna and her parrot, Lemon.
Asked by a policewoman how long it had been since she had walked in the city, Daryna said it had been 10 months.
鈥淚 dream for the war to end soon,鈥� said Daryna, clad in a bright orange bulletproof vest and helmet.