On Tuesday, the U.S. military made the unprecedented claim that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet had clipped the propeller of an American MQ-9 drone, which then caused it to crash into the Black Sea. Moscow vehemently denied this accusation and instead said that the incident was a deliberate provocation on the part of U.S. forces.

This is the first direct encounter between the two countries since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2020. The U.S. has been supporting Ukraine throughout the conflict with military aid and conducting regular surveillance missions.

In response, Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that the military commanders were unanimously in favor of defending the eastern frontline, including the ruined city of Bakhmut. He ended the address by dismissing the governors of three regions: Luhansk, Odesa and Khnelnitskiy.