The US military has shared footage of a Russian fighter jet colliding with an American drone over the Black Sea. The US claims that the incident caused significant damage to the drone, which had to be brought down in the waters near Crimea on Tuesday. Russia denies that its Su-27 fighter jet made contact with the drone's propeller, but the video appears to support the US account of the event.
The Pentagon released the video to corroborate its version of the incident. The BBC has not viewed the footage before or after the collision. Initially, the US reported that the confrontation lasted 30-40 minutes, while the released video is less than a minute long.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Wednesday night that the US stands by the facts it has provided so far. The Pentagon took some time to declassify the video footage before making it public.
The video, taken from a camera mounted beneath the drone's fuselage, shows a Russian Su-27 making two extremely close passes, seemingly releasing fuel as it approaches. The second pass is even closer, disrupting the video feed from the remotely piloted aircraft. When the picture returns, a blade of the drone's propeller can be seen bent out of shape.
Russia claims the drone was approaching its territory, but the video only shows the sea, sky, and clouds. The US maintains that the drone was operating in international airspace, while Moscow suggested on Tuesday that it had imposed a unilateral no-fly zone over the region as part of its invasion of Ukraine.
Following the incident, the US stated that Russian jets had dumped fuel on the drone several times before the collision. Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Pat Ryder told reporters that the drone was "unflyable and uncontrollable" and that the collision likely damaged the Russian aircraft as well.
Russian and US ships have been reported searching for the downed drone in the Black Sea. Senior Washington official John Kirby said the US is also searching for the aircraft, but emphasized that if Russia finds it first, "their ability to exploit useful intelligence will be highly minimized."