(TheConservativeTimes.org) – In a series of aggressive interactions between Russian and American military forces, a Russian fighter jet intercepted a U.S. drone while flying over Syria. The fighter jet fired flares at the drone and damaged it.
The incident happened on Sunday, July 23. According to a US Air Force official, the move was an attempt by the Russians to take down the drone. The incident came approximately one week after a Russian fighter jet flew extremely close to a US surveillance aircraft over Syria.
The Sunday incident has been part of a larger uptick in incidents between American and Russian aircraft. However, US officials have so far discounted the incidents’ connection with Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, in which Ukraine is receiving aid in the form of money and military equipment from NATO countries, including the US.
Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he is uncertain what caused the increase. The general said they have “analysts trying to figure that out,” and he doesn’t know whether it is related to Ukraine.
Others have put forward the view that the uptick in incidents is part of a larger increase in tension between the US, Russia, and Syria, and that such escalations are meant to dissuade the US from increasing its presence in the Middle East and may even be a tactic to get the US to leave altogether.
To make matters even worse, that incident is also part of a larger string of events between American and Russian military forces in Syria. Tensions between the two countries are also escalating in the wake of increased U.S. presence in the Gulf region, as Washington deploys more F-16 fighter jets to protect the Iranian seizures of civilian ships.
The increased patrol comes after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers, opening fire on one of them in the Strait of Hormuz.
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