The Russian Ministry of Defense announced, on Monday, that two Russian fighters had intercepted two American drones over the Black Sea.

The ministry said in a statement, "Air defense detected, over the southwestern part of the Black Sea, the flight of two American drones towards Russian airspace over the Black Sea, as they were conducting aerial reconnaissance in the Crimea region."

The statement added: "In order to prevent a possible violation of the country's borders and prevent them from carrying out the electronic reconnaissance operation, two Russian fighters of the Air Defense Forces flew into the air."

The statement pointed out that "as a result of the actions of the Air Defense Forces, the two American drones changed their flight destination and left the air reconnaissance areas in the Crimea region."

The Russian Ministry of Defense had announced earlier that a Russian fighter had intercepted an unmanned reconnaissance drone of the US Air Force, MQ-9A Reaper, as it approached Russia's borders over the Black Sea.

Last March, an American reconnaissance drone crashed in the Black Sea, after it was intercepted by two Russian fighter planes.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency