Russia to try recovering downed US drone, as US vows to 'protect our equities'
A race between the U.S. and Russia is underway to recover the debris of the drone that crashed into the Black Sea. Russian officials announced Wednesday that operations were underway to collect the debris of the downed U.S. drone — the country has denied responsibility for the incident. U.S. officials, meanwhile, say a Russian fighter jet clipped the U.S. drone's propeller while traveling in international airspace, causing the crash. "Without getting to too much detail, what I can say is that we've taken steps to protect our equities with respect to that particular drone, that particular aircraft and its United States property," Kirby said. "We obviously don't want to see anybody getting their hands on it beyond us."
foxnews.comWhite House: No consensus on the origins of COVID
The White House is downplaying a report that the Department of Energy has assessed COVID-19 began with a lab leak in China. National security council spokesman John Kirby said Monday 'there is not a consensus right now' about how COVID started. (Feb. 27)
news.yahoo.comWhite House tells governors 'thousands' of objects in the skies aren't aliens, could be used car lot balloons
A White House official told governors in a virtual briefing on Monday that "there are no UFOs" and "this is not an invasion of the aliens" after three flying objects were shot down over North America.
foxnews.comUS defends decision to shoot down 3 unidentified objects
The White House is defending the shootdowns of three unidentified objects in as many days even as it acknowledges that officials had no indication the objects were intended for surveillance in the same manner as the high-altitude Chinese balloon that traversed American airspace earlier this month.
‘High-altitude object’ shot down by military over Alaska, White House confirms
The White House said the U.S. military was tracking the object flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet after it “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” coming inside U.S. territorial waters within the last 24 hours. The Pentagon recommended that the military shoot it down.
washingtonpost.comUS jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast
A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said. The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman. It was the second time in a week U.S. officials had downed some type of flying object over the U.S. On Saturday fighter jets fired a missile into a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
news.yahoo.comU.S. shoots down second 'high altitude object' on Biden's orders
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 10, 2023. WASHINGTON — The U.S. military shot down a "high altitude object" in American airspace off the coast of Alaska on Friday, the White House announced, less than a week after a similar object was shot down off the coast of Carolina. "We're calling this an object because that's the best description we have right now," said White House spokesman John Kirby, calling the object "the size of a small car." "It was much much smaller than the spy balloon we took down last Saturday," he added. The latest incident differed significantly from the previous high-altitude balloon, which was permitted to float across the United States for a week.
cnbc.comRussia fumes over NATO tanks heading to Ukraine, revealing a Kremlin coming to grips with reality
Russia responded with anger and scorn after Germany and the United States revealed that they would be supplying Ukraine with powerful, advanced battle tanks. Moscow invoked history and warned of a broader conflict.
news.yahoo.comTreasury imposes sanctions against Russian paramilitary firm Wagner Group
A mural praises the Russian Wagner group and its mercenaries fighting in Ukraine on March 30, 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Treasury Department identified the Wagner Group, led by Putin crony Yevgeniy Prigozhin, as a "significant transnational criminal organization." Kirby also slammed North Korean weapon deliveries to Russia used by Wagner, including infantry rockets and missiles. Joint Stock Company Terra Tech, a Russian-based technology firm, for providing space and aerial imagery to the Wagner Group. In addition, Treasury took action against Joint Stock Company Research and Production, a Russian space company supporting Russia's military activities in Ukraine.
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