March 15, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Joshua Berlinger, Adrienne Vogt, Mike Hayes, Leinz Vales, Elise Hammond and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 12:31 a.m. ET, March 16, 2023

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11:58 p.m. ET, March 14, 2023

A Russian jet forced down a US drone over international waters. Here's what you need to know

From CNN staff

A Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of a MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to US officials. The drone was flying over international waters when one of two Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel on the unmanned drone several times, according to the US European Command.

Russia has pushed back, denying that its jets came "into contact" with the drone. The Russian Ambassador to the US said Russia does not want “confrontation” with the US but "as we see it, American aircraft have no business being near the Russian border."

Here's what to know:

US-Russia drone intervention: A Russian jet downed a US drone over the Black Sea. Aircraft from both countries have operated over the Black Sea during the course of the war, but this is the first known such interaction, a potentially dangerous escalation at a critical time in the fighting. The incident prompted US officials to express "strong objections" to diplomats. Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder called it "uncommon and unfortunate and unsafe." President Joe Biden and US allies have been briefed, according to the White House and the Pentagon.
Russian response: Moscow has pushed back, denying that its fighter jets came "into contact" with the US drone. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said Russia does not want a "confrontation" with the US, but the craft was too close to the Russian border. The drone has not been recovered, a spokesperson for US European Command said.
Latest from the front lines: Russian strikes across the Donetsk region have killed at least three people. In Bakhmut, social media posts appear to confirm fighting around the AZOM metallurgical plant in the north of the city. The intensity of shelling in the city has increased, a Ukrainian soldier said on Ukrainian television. Wagner units appear to be making limited advances but remain well short of encircling Bakhmut. In southern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said it destroyed four Russian missiles that were headed toward Odesa.
Update on Western aid: Ukrainian soldiers have nearly completed their training on Leopard 2 battle tanks in Munster, Germany, according to a spokesperson for the special training command. Once the training is finished, Germany can deploy the Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, the spokesperson said. Germany has so far vowed to supply Ukraine with 18 of the latest A6 model Leopard 2 tanks. Additionally, the Netherlands announced it will send two minesweepers, drone detection radar systems and ferrying and bridge-building systems to Ukraine, according to Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
War crime investigation: The Russian government has said it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, after the court declared its plans to open two war crimes cases against Russia, according to The New York Times and Reuters.

4:19 a.m. ET, March 15, 2023

Russian ambassador says US aircraft have no business being near Russian border

From CNN's Josh Pennington and Radina Gigova

Anatoly Antonov, center, Russian ambassador to the United States, departs after meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Karen Donfried at the U.S. State Department in Washington, on March 14. (Patrick SemanskyAP)

Anatoly Antonov, the Russian Ambassador to the US, said Tuesday that Russia does not want “confrontation” with the US but "as we see it, American aircraft have no business being near the Russian border."

Talking to reporters after he was summoned to the State Department following an incident that led to the downing of a US Reaper drone over the Black Sea, Antonov asked, "Could you imagine if such a UAV appeared suddenly close to New York or San Francisco?"

"Can you imagine the reaction of the US press, the Pentagon, to this drone? What kind of drone was it? Think about this before summoning me to the State Department. It's a multipurpose [drone], with strike capabilities of up to a 1,700 kilograms explosive payload," he said. "Tell me how any MoD of any country would react to the threat of such danger appearing along their borders?"

Antonov did say he wanted to point out "how professional the Russian pilots were in their actions. No contact was made, nor were any weapons used by our fighter jets."

"I think it's better that we discuss at the State Department avenues of cooperation and mutual action, but unfortunately, my communication with the State Department lately has just been to address their protests about the actions of the Russian Federation," he said.
"The Russian Federation is not interested in confrontation. The Russian side is interested in pragmatic relations with the USA in the interests of both the Russian and American people."

Some background: The Reaper drone was flying over international waters when one of two Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel on the unmanned drone several times, according to the US European Command. The aircraft then hit the propeller of the drone, prompting US forces to bring the MQ-9 drone down in international waters.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder added Tuesday that the Russian aircraft flew “in the vicinity” of the drone for 30 to 40 minutes before colliding just after 7 a.m. Central European Time.

8:45 p.m. ET, March 14, 2023

Transfer of jets to Ukraine may happen within next 6 weeks, Polish prime minister says

From CNN's Alex Hardie and Niamh Kennedy

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday that a transfer of Poland's supply of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine “might happen within the next four to six weeks.”

Morawiecki made the remark while answering questions from reporters in Warsaw.

It comes after Polish President Andrzej Duda told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in a late February interview that Ukrainian pilots were "prepared to operate" MiG-29 fighter jets.

Ukrainian pilots however will likely need more training to "be ready to fly modern aircraft at NATO standards, such as F-16s," Duda said, emphasizing that the "training of a pilot is much more complicated and much longer [than the training of a tank operator].”

Duda told CNN that modern weapons are "key" to shoring up Ukraine's ability to defend itself from Russia. When asked if that includes fighter jets, he responded: “If there is such a need, of course, yes.”

4:42 a.m. ET, March 15, 2023

US taking steps to ensure drone won't end up in the wrong hands, White House official says

From CNN's Betsy Klein

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House on March 2, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The US is taking measures to ensure the drone that was downed over the Black Sea won't fall into the wrong hands, a top White House official said Tuesday.

“Without getting into too much detail, what I can say is that we've taken steps to protect our equities with respect to that particular drone — that particular aircraft. And it’s the United States property. We obviously don't want to see anybody getting their hands on it beyond us,” John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday.

Pressed on whether the US would show evidence to back its account of what happened – given Russia’s denial — Kirby noted the US is “looking at some imagery to see if any of that might be suitable” for public release, but said no decisions have been made at this time.

He also dismissed the denial issued by Russia's defense ministry.

“Obviously we refute the Russians' denial and I think anybody, after a year now, Jake, should take everything that the Russians say about what they're doing in and around Ukraine with a huge grain of salt,” he said.

Kirby pointed to the summoning of Russia’s Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov to the State Department as “one of the advantages of having diplomatic lines open,” saying that in the meeting, US officials walked the ambassador “through the very significant and very real concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional conduct by Russian pilots.”

He reiterated his condemnation of the incident, warning of immediate and broader implications.

“We certainly don’t want to see this war escalate beyond what it has already done to the Ukrainian people,” Kirby said, calling it “inappropriate, unsafe, unprofessional conduct by the Russian pilots.”

8:42 p.m. ET, March 14, 2023

Russia does not want confrontation with US, Moscow's ambassador says

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Russia does not want “confrontation” with the US, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said Tuesday after he was summoned to the State Department following an incident that led to the downing of a US Reaper drone over the Black Sea.

“We prefer not to create a situation where we can face unintended clashes or unintended incidents between the Russian Federation and the United States,” Antonov said.

He was inside the State Department for a little over half an hour. Antonov said Assistant Secretary Karen Donfried conveyed the US’ concerns about the incident, and he “exchanged our remarks on this issue because we have some differences.”

“It seems to me that it was a constructive conversation on this issue. I have heard her remarks, I hope that she has understood what I have mentioned,” Antonov said in response to a question from CNN.

Antonov reiterated the Russian defense ministry’s denial that any Russian aircraft came into contact with the drone.

He also claimed that Russia “had informed about this space that was identified as a zone for special military operation.”

“We have warned not to enter, not to penetrate,” he said, asking how the US would react if a Russian drone came close to New York or San Francisco.

8:40 p.m. ET, March 14, 2023

Russia denies that fighter jets came "into contact" with US drone

From CNN's Katharina Krebs and Radina Gigova

A Russian fighter aircraft "did not use airborne weapons or come into contact" with a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

"On 14 March 2023 in the morning, the Russian airspace control systems have detected an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle flying over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula in the direction of the state border of the Russian Federation," the ministry said in the statement, which they also released in English.
"The drone flew with its transponders off, violating the boundaries of the temporary airspace regime established for the special military operation, communicated to all users of international airspace, and published in accordance with international standards," the ministry said.

The ministry said Russian fighter jets "scrambled to identify the intruder."

"As a result of quick maneuvering around 9:30 a.m. (Moscow time), the MQ-9 drone went into an unguided flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface," the ministry said.

"The Russian aircraft did not use on-board weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and returned safely to their home airfield."

Some more context: Earlier Tuesday, the US Air Force said a Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea after damaging the propeller of the drone. The White House is calling Moscow's actions "unsafe, unprofessional and reckless."

While Russian and US aircraft have operated over the Black Sea during the Ukraine war, this is the first known interaction of this nature since the conflict began, and a potentially dangerous escalation at a critical time in the fighting.

8:36 p.m. ET, March 14, 2023

Russian fighter jet forces down US drone over Black Sea after intercept

From CNN's Oren Liebermann, Jennifer Hansler, Haley Britzky and Natasha Bertrand

In this February 21 photo, a US Air Force 119th Wing MQ-9 Reaper flys over an airfield at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (Senior Airman Christa Anderson/US Air National Guard/File)

A Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to the US military.

The Reaper drone and two Russian Su-27 aircraft were flying over international waters over the Black Sea on Tuesday when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel on the unmanned drone several times, a statement from US European Command said.

The aircraft then hit the propeller of the drone, prompting US forces to bring the MQ-9 drone down in international waters. Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder added Tuesday that the Russian aircraft flew “in the vicinity” of the drone for 30 to 40 minutes before colliding just after 7 a.m. Central European Time.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said in the statement. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”

The incident marks the first time Russian and US military aircraft have come into direct physical contact since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine just over a year ago and is likely to increase tensions between the two nations, with the US calling Russia’s actions “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional.”

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that Russia does not want “confrontation” between his country and the US after he was summoned to the State Department following the downing of the drone.

“We prefer not to create a situation where we can face unintended clashes or unintended incidents between the Russian Federation and the United States,” Antonov said.

Read the full story here.