The American MQ-9 drone fell into the Black Sea due to its own sharp maneuvers, and the Russian fighter jets did not come into contact with it, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) informed.

It was noted here that the incident took place this morning in the Crimea region. According to the Russian MOD, the aforesaid drone, whose transponders were turned off, flew in the direction of Russia, violating the temporary regime of airspace use, which was introduced for the implementation of the special military operation.

After the detection of this drone, the fighter jets of the Russian air defense forces took off.

"As a result of a sharp maneuver, at around 9:30am Moscow time, the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle lost altitude and crashed into the water," the Russian MOD stated.

The ministry stressed that the Russian fighter jets did not use weapons and did not come into contact with the drone. And after their flight, they successfully returned to their airbase.

Earlier, the European Command of the US Armed Forces announced that the Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with the American MQ-9 drone in the sky over the Black Sea. It added that subsequently, the drone fell into international waters. It was confirmed that not long before this incident, the aforementioned Su-27 allegedly performed unsafe maneuvers.