Footage declassified of Russian jet dumping fuel on U.S. drone

The United States European Command declassified a video Thursday showing the events before a Russian fighter jet collided with a U.S. drone on Tuesday. The drone captured footage of a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on it during two separate passes. On the second pass, the camera feed is lost for about a minute. When the footage resumes, it shows one of the drone’s propeller blades is damaged. The damage prompted its crew to direct it down into the Black Sea. The MQ-9 drone had been conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, officials said.

Did Russia intentionally take the drone down? Dumping the jet fuel was intentional, though it is unclear whether Russia meant to down the drone, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The encounter was reckless and unprofessional, U.S. officials said. Russia said its jet did not come in contact with the drone. The incident will not stop the U.S. from performing missions over international waters, said Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. 

Dig deeper: Listen to Cal Thomas’ report on The World and Everything in It podcast on the endgame of the Ukrainian war.