The relationship between the U.S. and Russia has been a source of tension for decades. However, the tensions between these two global powers have escalated in recent years. The recent downing of a U.S. drone on international waters has only added fuel to the fire.

The incident occurred when a U.S. Navy drone was flying over the Black Sea, and Russian jets intercepted the drone by dumping fuel on top of it, causing it to crash into the water. The U.S. military has accused Russia of aggressive behavior and violating international law, while Russia has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the drone was flying too close to its territorial waters. The U.S. wants to see if they can go and rescue the drone and whatever information they can still retrieve from it, but are not sure if it would be worth it putting Americans in that territory for unguaranteed information.

This incident is just the latest in a series of events that have increased tensions between the U.S. and Russia. The situation in Ukraine has been a point of contention between the U.S. and Russia ever since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and then started to invade their country this past year. The U.S. has tried to get involved to support Ukraine, but it has created more tension. Now China and Russia are building a closer friendship with each other, which is a threat to the U.S. Kristin Marinelli, a Pennridge High School social studies teacher, believes “tensions will rise [between U.S. and Russia] because it’s hard to ignore when Putin calls Xi a good friend.” This is a very convincing point because as Russia and China become stronger global superpowers, America is getting weaker, and we can’t ignore that.

The U.S. can’t be the only nation involved in this conflict; however, the United Nations has a crucial role in easing the tensions. They can communicate with Russia and work together to figure out a solution so these issues don’t continue into a downward spiral. Putin’s behavior with Ukraine and now the U.S. is aggressive and is leaving leaders confused as to why he is doing all this. President Biden even thinks an arrest warrant is justifiable because of Putin’s recent actions. “‘He’s clearly committed war crimes,’ Biden told reporters on Friday. ‘I think it’s justified,’ he said, referring to the arrest warrant.” Pennridge High School senior Parker Wood, when asked about Russia ever making a move of aggression on the U.S., he says, “I do not believe Russia would make a move towards the U.S. They may be childish in their decision and approach over in Ukraine but there are miles of difference between the U.S. and Ukraine militarily.” While Wood does make a good point, this destruction of a U.S. drone is the first real attack Russia has done on the U.S., and we genuinely do not know what they will do in the future.

Throughout all of this turmoil, leaders in America are doing their best to keep these issues under control. Communication among the United Nations and other allies is critical in keeping the peace, as we want to prevent any more invasions and violence in general. This drone attack was just a minor inconvenience for the U.S. but gave us the smallest glimpse into what Ukraine has been enduring for over a year.

Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-news-vladimir-putin-china-russia-meeting-icc-war-crimes/

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-china-xi-putin-meeting-d989e5c65ff762c1af91215d6dd2cf6e

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/16/us-releases-footage-russian-jet-crashing-into-american-drone-over-black-sea

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/18/us-biden-says-war-crime-charges-against-russias-putin-justified

https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-su-35-scrambled-over-baltic-2-us-bombers-flew-towards-border-2023-03-20/