On Thursday, the Pentagon published a rare declassified footage showing Russia intercepting a U.S. military surveillance drone that crashed over the Black Sea two days earlier.
The first direct U.S.-Russian encounter since the Ukrainian war worsened already sour ties.
In the footage, a Russian Su-27 fighter plane approaches the U.S. MQ-9 drone and drops gasoline near it, which U.S. authorities claim was attempting to harm the American aircraft over the Black Sea.
The Military claims the Russian jet’s impact with the drone caused the video feed to be lost following another near-Russian maneuver. The Pentagon says the crash damaged the drone’s propeller, rendering it useless.
The Pentagon claimed the 40-second video, edited by the U.S. military, shows events in order.
Russia has denied U.S. accusations that its jets acted recklessly in the incident on Tuesday over the Black Sea and instead has blamed “sharp maneuvering” by the drone for the crash, claiming its jet did not make contact.
The incident over international waters was a reminder of the risk of confrontation between the United States and Russia over Ukraine, which Moscow invaded more than a year ago and which Western allies have supported with intelligence and weapons.
The video was released after Wednesday’s talks between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Mark Milley.
On Wednesday, Milley told reporters that Russian planes intercepted and harassed the drone, but it was unclear whether they intended to smash their aircraft into the drone, which may put their aircraft at risk.
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