unprofessional,

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military has seen a significant spike in unprofessional behavior by Russia’s air force in Syria since March 1, the top U.S commander for the region said on Thursday, citing flights by armed Russian warplanes over U.S. bases there as an example.

“We have seen a significant spike since about 1 March in Syria,” General Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The comments by Kurilla follow U.S. assertions that Russia’s intercept of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday was part of a pattern of more aggressive behavior by Russia’s military.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden was briefed on Tuesday about an incident over the Black Sea in which a Russian Su-27 fighter jet struck the propeller of a U.S. military “Reaper” surveillance drone, White House spokesman John Kirby said.

While there have been other such intercepts, Kirby said, this one was noteworthy because it was “unsafe and unprofessional” and caused the downing of a U.S. aircraft. “So it’s unique in that regard,” Kirby said.

“The State Department will be speaking directly with their Russian counterparts, and expressing our concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept,” he said.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Franklin Paul; Editing by Chris Reese)

US sees spike in unprofessional Russian Air Force behavior over Syria

White House’s spokesman: drone incident was unsafe, unprofessional, reckless