Like everything Russian, there is a mystery at hand. Three U.S. officials have said the Kremlin, and posssibly Validmir Putin himself, approved Tuesday's downing of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea. NBC News reports that "One official said he had not gotten indications that the signoff went all the way up to Putin." The two other officials "declined to provide specifics beyond 'highest levels,'" which otherwise suggests Putin's personal involvement.
And which, as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described it, was "dangerous and reckless and unprofessional behavior" — from the highest levels on down to the inept Russian pilot who collided with the drone. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley added that Russia's impulsive behavior of increasing aggression has become a pattern. And not only toward the U.S. He said Russia had targeted British aircraft and that of other nations as well.
It seems that Putin, addled dictator that he is, believes he can single-handedly redraw international boundary lines extending into the seas. A Russian statement issued Tuesday said the U.S. drone was "in violation of the boundaries of the temporary airspace use area, defined in order to carry out the special military operation, which has been conveyed to all airspace users and published in accordance to the international norms."
The Washington Post took care in noting: "Under international law, territorial waters extend 12 miles from shore." The drone was downed approximately 5o miles from the tip of Crimea, which Putin has also single-handedly declared is Russia's. Continued the Post: "There is no 'international norm' governing the unilateral declaration of exclusive airspace and maritime zones."
A U.S. defense official said "The only party in this incident violating international norms were the Russian pilots who intercepted and damaged the U.S. aircraft." And DefSec Austin said yesterday that the U.S. military would "continue to fly and operate wherever international law allows." In blunter terms, he told Putin that he could stuff his self-declared, "temporary airspace use area."
A Pentagon spokesman reiterated Auston's message, saying the U.S. "routinely operated" in the Black Sea before Putin invaded Ukraine, and it "will continue" to do so. "The Black Sea," said the spokesman, "is a critical international seaway supporting many of our NATO allies, including Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, and does not belong to any one country."
Most likely, Russia's downing of the drone was merely another instance of Putin extending his middle finger at the United States. I can't imagine that he's seriously looking for a broader fight, given that all his other fingers and Russia's mighty military are presently tied down by former Ukrainian shopkeepers and housewives.
If he is looking for a thornier fight, then he's crazier than we thought.