Politics

Provocation with B-52 nuclear bomber, now drone incident: what does Washington want?

Why are US “Reaper” drones flying over the Black Sea towards Russia, why is a B-52 nuclear bomber approaching St. Petersburg? In any case, the recent actions of the US armed forces do not de-escalate the conflict with Moscow – is Washington looking for a casus belli?

Richard Schmitt March 15, 2023 06:01

The current incident with the “Reaper” drone over the Black Sea now has massive diplomatic consequences: The US government quotes the Russian ambassador to the foreign office – after all, an eleven-meter-long “Reaper” costs around 14 million euros. What many social media users are already discussing emotionally: What is a US mega drone doing far from all coasts of the United States over the Black Sea?

In any case, the Russian ambassador to the US openly accused Washington of using US drones to collect reconnaissance data for Ukraine: “What are you doing over the Black Sea? The answer is obvious – they collect intelligence information that will later be used by the Kiev regime to attack our armed forces and territory.”

The Russian Defense Ministry had previously denied any responsibility for the US drone crash. The drone was neither shot at nor attacked in any other way, according to a statement distributed by the state agency TASS. The fighter jets intercepted the US drone. But there was no contact – the eXXpress reported.

A US Reaper drone. Cost per piece: around 14 million euros.

Does the US government want a direct military conflict with Moscow?

However, the drone incident is now the second highly explosive action by the US government, which could be understood by the Russian armed forces and the political leadership in the Kremlin as provocations: For example, as we reported, a B-52H nuclear bomber only approached on Saturday evening dangerously close to the 5.1 million city of St. Petersburg. This “Stratofortress,” which may have had state-of-the-art nuclear weapons on board, turned just 200 kilometers from Vladimir Putin’s birthplace.

The next few days will show whether US forces will order more high-risk actions. If there are further explosive conflict situations between the superpowers, it must be feared that this is no longer a coincidence – and that a casus belli, a reason for war, should perhaps even be sought. Such an escalation could allow Washington to then openly send not only arms but also troops to Ukraine. As is well known, Ukraine is under massive military pressure because even the most recent waves of recruitment are no longer sufficient to be able to continue the war with the Russian Federation for years – Kiev not only lacks weapons and billions, but also men who are able-bodied.

The route of the US drone that crashed into the Black Sea.

Two Su-27 jets are said to have damaged the US drone’s engine.

The US drones take off from Sicily and then circle over the Black Sea – presumably to support Ukraine with their reconnaissance results. US President Biden sends B-52 nuclear bombers up to 200 kilometers from St. Petersburg googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘medrec-ad’);});googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘halfpage-ad’);});