United States has shown that Crimea is Ukraine: Defense Express expert Riabykh on downed US drone

Valerii Riabykh, the Director for development at Defense Express media and consulting company, said this on Espreso TV.

"It was a certain game on the part of the Americans, and the Russians fell for it and started a competition to see who had more opportunities and influence. However, we saw an emotional statement by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, he said that they will fly where it is allowed by all international agreements. The US is showing that they are saying that Crimea is Ukraine. The Russians were trying to drive this drone away from the Saky air base," he said.

Riabykh said that nothing terrible will happen if the Russians retrieve up the remains.

"There are more than 200 such drones and about 10 have been lost – there is a well-established mechanism where an automatic system for destroying all critical data is triggered before a loss. This is a normal situation for the US military," the expert summarized.

•  On March 14, in international airspace over the Black Sea, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone. The drone was shot down as a result of the incident. After the incident, the United States began negotiations with Russia at the "highest level" and summoned the Russian ambassador to Washington.  After the incident, the United States began negotiations with Russia at the "highest level" and summoned the Russian ambassador to Washington.
• Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said after the incident with the US drone that Moscow does not want a confrontation with the United States, but "American aircraft have no business being near the Russian border."
• On March 15, the White House said that the drone incident would not prevent the United States from flying over the Black Sea.
• The Kremlin was aware of the attack on the American military drone, as the aggressive actions of Russian fighters had been approved in advance by the leadership.
• The Kremlin was aware of the attack on the American military drone, as the aggressive actions of Russian fighters had been approved in advance by the leadership.
• On March 16, the U.S. Department of Defense released a video of a Russian Su-27 colliding with an American MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
• Subsequently, White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said that the Russian pilot's pursuit of the American drone was a deliberate and aggressive act

• Later, White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said that the Russian pilot's pursuit of the American drone was a deliberate and aggressive act.