Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) encouraged the US on Tuesday to shoot down Russian planes if they “ever get near another US asset flying in international waters", which comes after two Russian Su-27 aircraft downed a US drone over the Black Sea just one day ago. 

The US European Command (USEUCOM) has already criticized Russia for the incident, saying on Tuesday, “Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.” 

"These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation," the statement said.

In response, General James B. Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, added his two cents in saying “this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”

Appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, when the host asked the Senator for his opinion on what the correct way to respond was, Senator Graham stressed that Russia should be held "accountable and say that, ‘If you ever get near another US asset flying in international waters, your airplane will be shot down.'”

“What would Ronald Reagan do right now? He would start shooting Russian planes down if they were threatening our assets,” 

The Russian Defense Ministry denied US allegations and said its fighter jets did not come into contact with the US MQ-9 drone that crashed into the Black Sea earlier, pointing out that the drone crashed due to "sharp maneuvering".

Graham then took a jab at US President Joe Biden's failure in leading foreign policy, by saying, “If you don’t change your game and up your game, we’re going to have World War III.”

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