US Releases Video of Drone Collision with Russian Fighter Jet: "Intentional Collision"

Russia's "No Contact" Claim Directly Refuted
"Not Seeking to Escalate Tensions with Russia"

The U.S. government has caused a stir by unusually releasing footage of a collision between a Russian fighter jet and a U.S. military drone over the Black Sea. When the Russian side denied any contact between the fighter jet and the drone, the U.S. presented concrete evidence to directly refute the claim. However, the U.S. government showed restraint in its response, stating that it does not seek to escalate tensions with Russia.

According to CNN on the 16th (local time), the U.S. European Command released a 42-second video showing a Russian Su-27 fighter jet spraying fuel as it approached a U.S. MQ-9 drone. The footage, taken on the 14th over the Black Sea, shows a Su-27 approaching the MQ-9 from behind while releasing fuel. The fighter jet flew over the MQ-9 while spraying fuel, and at that moment, the drone’s video transmission was briefly interrupted due to signal interference.

Subsequently, the Su-27 collided with the drone, and the U.S. European Command stated that the camera feed was cut off for about 60 seconds during the incident. When the camera resumed, damage to one of the propeller blades was visible. The reason the U.S. unusually released this footage is believed to be because the Russian side denied the collision altogether.

On the 16th (local time), the video released by the U.S. European Command shows a Russian Su-27 fighter jet approaching an MQ-9 Reaper drone belonging to the U.S. European Command and spraying fuel.
[Image source=U.S. European Command website]

The Russian Ministry of Defense continues to deny the collision. In a statement following the incident report, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, "The Russian fighter jet did not use air combat weapons, did not make contact with the drone, and returned safely to base."

Patrick Ryder, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, said at a briefing that it is not uncommon for them to release images of unsafe and unprofessional incidents. He added, "Especially in this case, we thought it was important to provide images to show what actions Russia took."

However, he moderated the response by saying that they do not seek to escalate tensions with Russia. Ryder emphasized, "It is important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture," and added, "The U.S. focus regarding Ukraine is to provide the support Ukraine needs to defend itself." He further explained, "The United States does not seek conflict or escalation with Russia. We are focused on our primary mission to help Ukraine fight."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.