KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Pentagon has launched footage of what it says is a Russian plane conducting an unsafe intercept of a U.S. Air Drive surveillance drone in worldwide airspace over the Black Sea.
The 42-second video, launched Thursday, exhibits a Russian Su-27 approaching the again of the MQ-9 drone and starting to launch gasoline because it passes, the Pentagon mentioned.
The U.S. army mentioned it ditched the MQ-9 Reaper within the sea on Tuesday after the Russian fighter jet poured gasoline on the unmanned aerial automobile, in an obvious try and blind its optical devices and drive it out of the realm, after which struck its propeller.
The launched excerpt doesn’t present occasions earlier than or after the obvious fuel-dumping confrontation.
Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Workers Chairman Gen. Mark Milley have spoken to their Russian counterparts in regards to the destruction of the U.S. drone following the encounter with Russian fighter jets.
The calls with Russian Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Russian Normal Workers Gen. Valery Gerasimov on Wednesday have been the primary since October.
Whereas intercept makes an attempt should not unusual, the incident amid the struggle in Ukraine has raised issues it might deliver america and Russia nearer to direct battle.
That the 2 international locations’ high protection and army leaders have been speaking so quickly after the encounter over the Black Sea underscored its seriousness.
The Russian Protection Ministry mentioned in its report of the decision with Austin that Shoigu accused the U.S. of upsetting the incident by ignoring flight restrictions the Kremlin had imposed due to its army operations in Ukraine.
Russia additionally blamed “the intensification of intelligence actions towards the pursuits of the Russian Federation.”
Such U.S. actions “are fraught with escalation of the scenario within the Black Sea space,” the Protection Ministry mentioned, warning that Russia “will reply in variety to all provocations.” ___
Comply with AP’s protection of the struggle in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine