TOP HEADLINES

• Moscow told Washington on Wednesday to keep well away from its air space after Russian jets intercepted a U.S. drone and crashed into the Black Sea – the first known direct confrontation between the nations since Russia started its 'special military operation' in Ukraine a year ago. SEE MORE BELOW

• The U.S. military said the incident was caused by a mid-air collision after two Russian Su-27 fighter planes approached one of its MQ-9 Reaper drones on a reconnaissance mission over international waters.

• Russia denied a collision and said the drone had crashed after "sharp maneuvers," also saying the drone had flown close to its air space with its transponders off, and that Russia had scrambled fighters to identify it.

• Russia's U.S. ambassador Anatoly Antonov said the U.S. drone had "deliberately and provocatively" approached Russian air space, saying "the unacceptable activity of the U.S. military in the close proximity to our borders is a cause for concern" and insisting Washington should "stop making sorties near the Russian borders."

• Türkiye is closely monitoring the drone incident, said Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who also said they have made several contacts about the incident without giving further details.

• British Defense Minister Ben Wallace urged that "all parties respect international airspace," speaking at the DSEI Japan defense show near Tokyo.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said Germany's response to the Nord Stream pipeline explosion suggests the country has remained "occupied" by the West since World War II. "The Soviet Union at one point withdrew its forces and ended what amounted to an occupation of the country. But that, as is well known, was not the case with the Americans. They continue to occupy Germany."

• Russia has proposed suspending its double taxation agreements with what it calls "unfriendly countries" – those that have imposed sanctions on Moscow, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

• Proposed amendments to Russia's citizenship law would allow for the stripping of acquired citizenship for treason and discrediting the military operation in Ukraine, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his commitment to defending Bakhmut, saying after meeting his top military officers: "There was a clear position of the entire command: Strengthen this sector and destroy the occupiers to the maximum."

• Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said defending Bakhmut was important because a "large amount of enemy material is being destroyed... A huge number of troops are being killed and as of today, the enemy's capacity to advance is being reduced."

• Zelenskyy dismissed the governors of three regions: Luhansk in the east, Odesa on the Black Sea in the south and Khmelnytskyi in the west. No reason was given. 

• The UK's top court has ruled that Ukraine can defend a $3 billion Eurobond lawsuit brought by Russia on the basis it was forced to assume the debt in 2013 because of threats of force by Moscow.

• Russian oil and gas production is expected to decline in 2023, said Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov. "In 2023 for oil, we expect the level to be slightly lower, partly due to the voluntary production cut," Shulginov told parliament.

IN DETAIL

Russia warns U.S. away from its airspace

Moscow told Washington on Wednesday to keep well away from its air space after a U.S. drone intercepted by Russian jets crashed into the Black Sea, the first known direct confrontation between the superpowers since Russia started its 'special military operation' in Ukraine one year ago.

The U.S. military said the incident was caused by a mid-air collision after two Russian Su-27 fighter planes approached one of its MQ-9 Reaper drones on a reconnaissance mission over international waters.

The fighters harassed the drone and poured fuel on it, before one clipped the drone's propeller, causing it to crash into the sea, Washington said.

"This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional," said James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Moscow denied the aircraft had collided and said the drone had crashed after "sharp maneuvers." It said the drone had flown close to its air space with its transponders off, and that Russia had scrambled fighters to identify it.

In a statement published on the website of Russia's U.S. embassy in Washington early on Wednesday, Russia's ambassador Anatoly Antonov said the U.S. drone had "deliberately and provocatively" approached Russian air space.

"The unacceptable activity of the U.S. military in the close proximity to our borders is a cause for concern," he said. "They gather intelligence, which is subsequently used by the Kyiv regime to strike at our armed forces and territory."

"Let us ask a rhetorical question: If, for example, a Russian strike drone appeared near New York or San Francisco, how would the U.S. Air Force and Navy react?" he said, calling on Washington to "stop making sorties near the Russian borders."

The United States conducts regular surveillance flights in international air space in the region. It has supported Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military aid but says its troops have not become directly engaged in the conflict.

Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said it was a "very sensitive stage in this conflict because it really is the first direct contact that the public knows about between the West and Russia."

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