MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. The incident with a US MQ-9 drone and the statement by the Pentagon saying that it would continue flights over the Black Sea near the Russian border show that the United States has been involved in the Ukrainian conflict, Leonid Slutsky, who heads the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs, told TASS on Wednesday.

"The incident with a US MQ-9 drone and the Pentagon’s comment on it are yet another proof that the United States is involved in the Ukrainian conflict. Not that the fact of the UAV being on a reconnaissance mission was denied, it was actually confirmed by US defense officials. No doubt, this was a provocation that Russia cannot view otherwise than as an enemy action," the senior Russian lawmaker said.

Slutsky described the response by Russian pilots as utterly professional and calibrated. "They neither violated the Russian borders, nor collided or had contact with [the drone]. Note that it is the United States who has been causing a consistent escalation in the zone of the Ukrainian conflict," he said as he called on Washington to analyze the risks of its ‘drone schemes’ before they lead to major consequences.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Russian airspace control systems detected an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle flying over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula on Tuesday. The drone flew with its transponders turned off, violating a temporary boundary established for the special military operation, communicated to all users of international airspace, and published in accordance with international standards.

Russia’s top brass added that as a result of sharp maneuvering, the drone went into uncontrolled flight before losing altitude and crashing into the sea. The ministry stressed that the Russian aircraft did not use on-board weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and returned safely to their home airfield.

The US European Command claimed that one of the two Russian Su-27 warplanes hit the drone’s propeller to make it crash into the Black Sea. US President Joe Biden was informed about the incident. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov was summoned to the US Department of State.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a modular reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. It is equipped with a turboprop engine and can develop a speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour. The maximal flight duration is 24 hours. The drone is capable of carrying air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles, and laser-guided bombs.