Pentagon releases declassified video of Black Sea drone incident
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WASHINGTON – In a rare move, the Pentagon on Thursday released a declassified video showing Russia’s intercept of a United States military surveillance drone downed over the Black Sea two days ago.
It was the first direct US-Russian incident since the Ukraine war began, worsening already tense relations between Washington and Moscow.
In the video, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet is seen coming very close to the US MQ-9 drone and dumping fuel near it.
US officials say it was 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 another close Russian manoeuvre, which the Pentagon says resulted from the Russian jet’s collision with the drone.
It ends with images of the drone’s damaged propeller, which the Pentagon says resulted from the collision, making the aircraft inoperable.
The video, which is about 40sec long, has been edited by the US military for length but shows events in a sequential order, the Pentagon said.
Russia has denied US accusations that its jet acted recklessly in the incident.
It instead blamed “sharp manoeuvering” 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 direct confrontation between the US and Russia over Ukraine.
Moscow invaded Ukraine more than a year ago and Western allies have supported the Kyiv government with intelligence and weapons.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian ships had been seen near the area where the drone had crashed, though they did not appear to have recovered any parts of the drone yet.
It was not clear if they were still in the area.
Washington has said that any recovery efforts relating to the drone would be difficult because of the depth of water in the region. It said it has taken measures to ensure that no sensitive information can be gleaned from the remains of the drone.
A file photo of the US MQ-9 drone.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The release of the video followed separate calls on Wednesday between the top US general, Mark Milley, and his Russian counterpart, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, as well as between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.
In remarks to reporters on Wednesday, General Milley said it was clear that the intercept and harassment of the drone by Russian jets was intentional.
He added, however, that it was unclear whether the Russian pilots meant to slam their aircraft into the drone – a move that could also put the Russian aircraft at risk.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told his US counterpart that US drone flights near Crimea’s coast “were provocative in nature” and could lead to “an escalation ... in the Black Sea zone”, a ministry statement said.
Russia, the statement said, has “no interest” in escalation “but will in future react in due proportion” and the two countries should “act with a maximum of responsibility”, including by having military lines of communication in a crisis.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin declined to offer details about his conversation with Mr Shoigu.
But he said the United States would continue “to operate wherever international law allows. And it is incumbent on Russia to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner”. REUTERS
