Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World

Drone Crash Shows Putin Ready to Expand Conflict Zone, Says Ukrainian Official

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, speaks with Reuters during an interview, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 8, 2022. (Reuters)

An incident involving a US spy drone and a Russian fighter jet is a signal that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to expand the Ukraine-Russia conflict zone, a senior Ukrainian security official said on Wednesday.

The US military said on Tuesday a Russian fighter plane had clipped the propeller of a spy drone and made it crash into the Black Sea. Moscow denied the aircraft had collided and said the drone had crashed after "sharp maneuvers".

The Ukrainian presidency and government did not immediately offer any official comment on the incident but Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, voiced concern on Twitter.

"The incident with the American MQ-9 Reaper UAV, provoked by Russia in the Black Sea, is Putin's signal of readiness to expand the conflict zone with the involvement of other parties," he wrote.

He said Russia had a tactic of going all-out with a "constant raising of the stakes" in the hope of turning round what he described as the "conditions of a strategic defeat" for Russia in its year-old war in Ukraine.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.