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(CNN) The U.S. Command in Europe on Tuesday released footage of an encounter between U.S. drones and Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea.
A newly declassified video depicts key moments of the mid-air encounter, which the Pentagon said lasted between 30 and 40 minutes.
The video shows the MQ-9 Reaper drone’s camera pointing backwards toward the tail and the rear-mounted propellers of the drone rotating. Next, a Russian Sukhoi SU-27 fighter is shown approaching. As Russian fighters approach, they dump fuel as they intercept US drones.
In another part of the footage, the Russian jet makes another pass. As you get closer, it will dump fuel again. Video from the drone is interrupted as a Russian fighter jet collides with an MQ-9 Reaper, damaging its propeller and ultimately forcing the US to shoot down the drone over the Black Sea. denied that it occurred.
When the camera comes back online in the footage, the view is turned backwards again, showing the propeller damaged by the collision. With the propeller damaged, the drone operator effectively flew the aircraft like a glider, descending over the Black Sea and crashing into the high seas southwest of Crimea. Two US officials told CNN that the pilot remotely wiped the drone’s sensitive software, reducing the risk of secret material falling into enemy hands before it crashed into the ocean.
A senior Biden administration official said the footage “absolutely confirms” that there was a physical collision and fuel dumping, but did not confirm the pilot’s intentions.
On Wednesday, two well-informed US officials told CNN that a senior Russian Defense Ministry official had ordered Russian fighter jets to harass US drones in the Black Sea this week.
The involvement of senior U.S. military officials in the incident suggests that the fighter pilots were not acting unfairly when interfering with U.S. drones.
But at the moment, there is no indication that Russia’s top political leaders, especially those of the Kremlin, including President Vladimir Putin, had prior knowledge of the planned invasion, one US official said. rice field.
John Kirby, communications coordinator for the National Security Council, said on “CNN This Morning” Wednesday that the drone had not been recovered and that he was “not sure” whether the United States would be able to do so.
Moscow has said it will attempt to retrieve the wreckage of the drone, and two officials told CNN on Wednesday that Russia reached the crash site of the MQ-9 in the Black Sea. Kirby did not confirm the reported development, but said the US “made it impossible to collect anything informative from the drone’s wreckage, even if there was wreckage on the surface of the water.” .
The Kremlin said the decision on whether to retrieve the drone would be made by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Thursday: “This is a privilege of the military, if they believe it is necessary for our interests and our security in the Black Sea. , they will do it.”
Peskov said he did not know what the ministry decided.
Moscow and Washington have been in touch through military and diplomatic channels since the incident.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s MJ Lee, Jennifer Hansler, and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.
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