Russian Defense Minister Decorates Pilots for Downing US Drone

In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the Vostok group of Russian troops at an undisclosed location of the special military operation in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP, File)
In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the Vostok group of Russian troops at an undisclosed location of the special military operation in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP, File)
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Russian Defense Minister Decorates Pilots for Downing US Drone

In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the Vostok group of Russian troops at an undisclosed location of the special military operation in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP, File)
In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 4, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the Vostok group of Russian troops at an undisclosed location of the special military operation in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP, File)

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has presented awards to the pilots of two Su-27 fighter planes that intercepted a US drone near the airspace around Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, his ministry said on Friday.

The drone crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday after being intercepted by Russian jets, in the first known direct military encounter between Russia and the United States since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago.

Announcing the awards, the ministry repeated Russia's version of events - disputed by Washington - that the Russian planes did not make physical contact with the drone.

"As a result of sharp maneuvering around 9:30 a.m. (Moscow time), the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface," it said.

It said the drone had been flying with its transponders turned off and violating airspace restrictions that Russia had made public in connection with what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

The US military had said the Russian fighter planes approached its MQ-9 Reaper drone during a reconnaissance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace.

It said the fighters harassed the drone and sprayed fuel on it in an encounter lasting 30-40 minutes before one clipped the drone's propeller, causing it to crash into the sea.

The Pentagon on Thursday released a 40-second edited video showing a Russian fighter jet coming close to a US military drone in the air, dumping fuel near it, and a damaged propeller in the aftermath. The top US general said the incident demonstrated Moscow’s increasingly aggressive behavior.



UN Aviation Body Rules Russia Downed Malaysian Airliner 

Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis, right, other trial judges and lawyers view the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military airbase, southern Netherlands, on May 26, 2021. (AP)
Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis, right, other trial judges and lawyers view the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military airbase, southern Netherlands, on May 26, 2021. (AP)
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UN Aviation Body Rules Russia Downed Malaysian Airliner 

Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis, right, other trial judges and lawyers view the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military airbase, southern Netherlands, on May 26, 2021. (AP)
Presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis, right, other trial judges and lawyers view the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military airbase, southern Netherlands, on May 26, 2021. (AP)

The UN aviation council on Monday ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine that killed all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens or residents, the Dutch and Australian governments said in separate statements.

Both governments said the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would in the coming weeks consider what form of reparation was in order.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.

In November 2022, Dutch judges convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian man in absentia of murder for their role in the attack. Moscow called the ruling "scandalous" and said it would not extradite its citizens.

The ICAO, which is based in Montreal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case was launched in 2022 by Australia and the Netherlands.

"The decision is an important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability for all victims of Flight MH17, and their families and loved ones," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement.

"This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity."

The Netherlands and Australia want the ICAO Council to order Russia to enter into negotiations over reparations, he added.

Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government welcomed the decision and urged ICAO to move swiftly to determine remedies.

"We call upon Russia to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct, as required under international law," Wong said in a statement.

ICAO lacks regulatory power but holds moral suasion and sets global aviation standards overwhelmingly adopted by its 193-member states.