A Russian fighter jet collided with a U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea on Tuesday, bringing the drone down, the U.S. military said.

A U.S. military official told Voice of America (VOA) that the U.S. MQ-9 drone has not been recovered. The Russian Ministry of Defense accused the UAV of being responsible for the crash and said that the Russian Su-27 fighter did not touch the U.S. UAV.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was summoning the Russian ambassador over the incident.

"We are engaging directly with the Russians, and again at a high level, to convey our strong disapproval of this unsafe, unprofessional intercept that brought down an American drone," he said

. It added that Lynn Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, "has sent a strong message to the Russian foreign ministry."

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, according to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

"If the [Russian] message is that they want to deter or dissuade us from flying and operating in international airspace over the Black Sea, that message is going to fail because that kind of thing doesn't," Bryant said in response to a question from VOA. happening.” He said: “We will continue to fly and operate in international airspace over international waters. The Black Sea does not belong to any country and we will continue to

do in that area what we have to do in the interests of our national security.”

A statement from U.S. European Command, which operates U.S. forces in Europe, said two Russian Su-27s "dumped fuel and flew in front of an MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unfriendly and unprofessional manner." U.S. European Command

said : "One of the Russian Su-27s crashed into the MQ-9's propeller, causing the U.S. military to land the MQ-9 in international waters... Aside from being unsafe and unprofessional, this incident showed capability

Heck, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, said in a news release that the collision "nearly resulted in the loss of both aircraft. "

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said it was possible the Russian plane was also damaged in the collision. The interception lasted about 30 to 40 minutes before the collision, according to Ryder.

U.S. European Command called on Russian forces to act "professionally and safely," while warning that such actions are "dangerous and have the potential to lead to miscalculation and unintentional escalation."