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The Pentagon released footage Thursday of what it says is a Russian aircraft dumping fuel on an unmanned U.S. drone, damaging the propeller and forcing U.S. controllers to crash land the device in the Black Sea two days ago.
“Two Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept with a U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 Reaper operating within international airspace,” the Pentagon said in a release issued with the video.
The incident further escalated tensions between two global powers already sharply at odds since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year spurred the United States into providing billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv.
Also Thursday, Poland announced plans to send fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming the first ally to do so.
DRONE INCIDENT:Russian fighter jet damages US Air Force drone over Black Sea
How American, Russian officials responded to drone incident
Russian military authorities said they will attempt to retrieve and study the wreckage of the American MQ-9 drone, which is the size of a small plane. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that such a search was “the prerogative of the military, if they deem it necessary to do that in the Black Sea for our interests and for our security.”
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the drone sank into waters more than 4,000 feet deep, probably was destroyed and that “mitigating measures” were taken to ensure no intelligence could be accessed.
The drones can be armed with Hellfire missiles, but U.S. officials said the drone was not armed. Two Russian SU-27 fighters intercepted the drone Tuesday, demonstrating a “lack of competence,” according to a statement from U.S. European Command. The initial statement said that one of the fighters struck the propeller of the drone, “nearly caused both aircraft to crash,” and forced U.S. operators to bring the drone down in international waters.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its fighter jets were trying to identify the “intruder” flying near Crimea when the drone’s own abrupt maneuvering caused it to crash. The ministry accused the United States of provoking the incident, saying the drone flew with its transponders off and “violating the borders” established by the Kremlin due to the war.
Other developments:
►A court in Russia cited religious beliefs in affirming the right of Pavel Mushumansky, an Evangelical Christian, to perform alternative civil service rather than fight in Ukraine, citing religious beliefs, his lawyer reported.
►A former mayor of Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, was ordered to spend 14 days in custody pending trial on charges of discrediting the military. Yevgeny Roizman, a sharp critic of the Kremlin, has denied posting the criticisms on social media.
DRONE SALVAGE ATTEMPT:Russia to try to salvage wrecked US drone; Gen. Milley says ‘not a lot to recover’: Ukraine war updates
Poland the first ally to send fighter jets to Ukraine
Poland announced plans to provide Ukraine with a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the first ally to fulfill the longstanding request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Polish President Andrzej Duda, speaking Thursday at a news conference in Warsaw, said Poland would hand over four of the Soviet-made warplanes within days, the rest will be inspected and supplied later.
On Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country could provide Ukraine with MiG-29 fighter jets within four to six weeks if a coalition of allies signs off on a plan. Duda did not discuss which, if any, other countries might have joined his coalition, but Slovakia has said it also was willing to send MiGs to Ukraine.
The United States and NATO have balked at Zelenskyy’s request in the past amid concerns of expanding the war. President Joe Biden previously declined the request for fighters, but White House officials have not ruled out such deliveries in the future.
Russian offensive slowing down, think tank says
Russia’s weeks-long offensive in eastern Ukraine appears to have slowed, a Washington-based think tank said. The Institute for the Study of War cited a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Joint Press Center, Colonel Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, who said daily Russian ground attacks have decreased from 90 to 100 attacks per day to less than 30. Dmytrashkivskyi suggested significant manpower and equipment losses hampered the Russian push.
“Dmytrashkivskyi’s statements are consistent with (the institute’s) general observation regarding the pace of Russian operations along the entire frontline in Ukraine,” the institute says in its most recent assessment. The assessment says that Ukrainian forces appear to have regained some territory in the Luhansk region, part of the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed.
Ukrainian military sources have noted a decline in attacks in and around the highly prized city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The Russian mercenary Wagner Group’s leader, financier Yevgeny Prigozhin, has blamed an ammunition shortage.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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