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March 22 () –
The Russian Ministry of Defense has awarded the Order of Valor this Wednesday to the two SU-27 fighter pilots who collided in mid-March with an American MQ-9 model drone in international airspace over the waters of the Black Sea.
As detailed by the military portfolio, the pilots prevented the United States’ unmanned aerial vehicle from “violating” the limits of temporarily regulated international airspace in the framework of the war in Ukraine, the TASS news agency reports.
During the recognition ceremony for both pilots, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also awarded several other soldiers with the Order of Valor and the Gold Star medal for their performance during the “special military operation”, the euphemism for with which Moscow refers to the war.
The United States confirmed last week that one of its drones had crashed into the Black Sea after colliding with a Russian fighter while operating in international airspace. Russia, for its part, defended not having come into contact with the drone and pointed out that it plunged after a series of strange maneuvers.
Later, Washington published a series of images recorded by the unmanned aerial vehicle itself in which it is observed how a Russian fighter drops fuel on the drone, which shortly after loses the signal. After the incident, the United States and Russia began a race to get hold of the remains of the drone.
