Russian fighter jet crashes into US drone over Black Sea; US releases video footage

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon released on Thursday a video showing a Russian military jet intercept a U.S. drone downed over the Black Sea two days ago, in what was the first direct encounter between the world's leading nuclear powers since the Ukraine war began.

In the declassified, roughly 40-second video, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet comes very close to the drone and dumps what U.S. officials say was jet fuel near it in an apparent effort to damage the American aircraft as it flew over the Black Sea. It also shows the loss of the video feed after a second pass by a Russian jet, which the Pentagon says resulted from its collision with the drone. The video ends with images of the drone's damaged propeller, which the Pentagon says resulted from the collision, making the aircraft inoperable.

Russia said that operating U.S. drone flights near Crimea was provocative and could lead to an escalation. The top U.S. general said there was a pattern of increasing Russian aggression. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States was "ignoring" the fact that Russia had established air space restrictions in the area.

The drone's crash into the Black Sea is being investigated, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, declining to speak on the intent or the motivation behind the incident. The MQ-9 "Reaper" unmanned aerial vehicle can loiter at up to 50,000 feet for more than 27 hours, gathering intelligence with sophisticated cameras, sensors and radars.

BREAKING: U.S. military releases dramatic declassified video taken by MQ-9 Reaper drone that shows the moment that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with it after attempting to spray the drone with jet fuel. https://t.co/XGoVQN7ppJ pic.twitter.com/X9vH6qtFGf

— ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2023