Video released by the Pentagon on Thursday appears to show a Russian fighter jet rapidly approaching and then dumping fuel on a $32 million US Air Force drone that crashed in the Black Sea shortly after. .
US officials said one of two Russian Su-27s that harassed the MQ-9 Reaper drone cut its propeller on Tuesday, causing the damaged drone to crash into waters up to 5,000 feet deep. Russian authorities claim the drone fell out of the sky after attempting a difficult maneuver.
However the 42 seconds of footage published Thursday does not appear to prove either party’s claim. The fuel tank was believed to be an attempt to blind the drone’s optical equipment.
The US State Department called the encounter an “unsafe and unprofessional interception.”
That incident in international airspace marks another escalation in tensions between Russia and NATO forces, which continue to ramp up aid to Ukraine as it fends off an invasion by Vladimir Putin’s forces, now in its 13th month.
Poland said on Thursday it would provide Ukraine with about a dozen old MiG-29 jets, making it the first NATO nation to supply fighter jets to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has implored allied forces to “shut down the heaven” over his beleaguered nation.
Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, was invaded by the former Soviet Union in 1939, effectively starting World War II. The country has hosted more Ukrainian refugees than any other since Putin’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that they would recover the downed drone if military leaders deemed it necessary “for the benefit of our interests and our security.”
US officials have indicated they are not concerned that the drone’s wreckage is valuable to the Russians.
with cable news services
