Aircraft and strategic drone belonging to the United States (US) have been conducting reconnaissance operations close to Russian borders in Ukraine, several reports have claimed.
An online aircraft monitoring resource PlaneRadar stated that at least three American reconnaissance aircraft were spotted near Russia’s southern and western borders on May 1- the RQ-4B Global Hawk drone, Boeing RC-135V and the P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft.
The strategic RQ-4B Global Hawk drone belonging to the United States Air Force (USAF) conducted reconnaissance flight for five hours at an altitude of 16km along the demarcation line in Donbas, located in the eastern most part of Ukraine, according Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The drone made similar flights along the demarcation line in Donbas on April 5, 15, 20 and 23, the report stated further.
The Russian military tracked about 3,000 foreign combat aircraft, including about 1,000 “spy” planes and reconnaissance drones in the past one year, flying near Russia's maritime and land borders, a report published by Sputnik stated Wednesday.