US, Russia ratchet up their rhetoric over downing of drone

By ELENA BECATOROS and DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and the United States ratcheted up their confrontational rhetoric over a U.S. surveillance drone that encountered Russian warplanes and crashed near the Crimean Peninsula. At the same time, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, for the first time in five months. The Kremlin said Tuesday’s incident again proved Washington is directly involved in the fighting. It said Moscow will try to recover the drone wreckage from the Black Sea. U.S. officials said the incident shows Russia’s aggressive and risky behavior and pledge to continue surveillance. The latest incident signals Moscow’s increasing readiness to raise the ante amid soaring tensions between the two nuclear powers.