US Military Releases Video of Drone Incident over Black Sea
2023-03-17
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1The United States military on Thursday released a video of what it said was a Russian fighter jet releasing fuel onto an American drone.
2The incident took place in international airspace.
3U.S. military officials said the Russian jet also hit the drone's propeller and caused it to crash into the Black Sea.
4The incident heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S. over the war in Ukraine.
5The 42-second video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 Reaper drone and releasing fuel as it passes, U.S. officials said.
6The action appeared to be aimed at disabling the drone's camera to drive it from the area.
7On a second approach, either the same jet or another Russian fighter then hit the drone's propeller.
8This caused the unmanned aircraft to crash into the sea.
9The video does not show events before or after the incident and does not show the Russian warplane striking the drone.
10Russia had claimed that its fighters did not strike the drone.
11Russian officials said the unmanned vehicle went down after making a sharp movement.
12Russia and NATO member countries regularly intercept each other's warplanes.
13But the drone incident marked the first time since the Cold War that a U.S. aircraft went down as a result of such action.
14The incident also raises concerns that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to direct conflict.
15The incident was serious enough that top U.S. and Russian defense and military leaders spoke with each other on Wednesday.
16The calls between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, as well as between Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russian General Staff, were the first since October.
17The Russian Defense Ministry's report of the call said that Shoigu accused the U.S. of causing the incident by ignoring Russia's flight restrictions in the area.
18Russia argues that by providing weapons and sharing intelligence with Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies have effectively been involved in the war.
19The wings of the unmanned MQ-9 are 20 meters wide. It operates using a ground control station and satellite equipment.
20The drone also can carry weapons. But a Defense spokesperson would not say whether the drone had been armed.
21The video's release is the latest example of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden making public intelligence findings related to the war.
22The administration has said it wants to highlight Russian activity and misinformation, so allies remain clear about Russian aims.
23Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the decision of whether or not to recover the wreckage was up to the military.
24"If they consider it necessary to do so in the Black Sea for the benefit of our interests and our security, they will do it," he said.
25Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Wednesday that an attempt would be made.
26U.S. officials have said that nothing of military value would remain from the drone even if Russia managed to recover the wreckage.
27They left open the possibility of trying to recover parts of the $32 million aircraft, which they said crashed into waters that were 1,200 to 1,500 meters deep.
28The U.S., however, does not have any ships in the area.
29I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1The United States military on Thursday released a video of what it said was a Russian fighter jet releasing fuel onto an American drone. The incident took place in international airspace. U.S. military officials said the Russian jet also hit the drone's propeller and caused it to crash into the Black Sea. 2The incident heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S. over the war in Ukraine. 3The 42-second video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 Reaper drone and releasing fuel as it passes, U.S. officials said. The action appeared to be aimed at disabling the drone's camera to drive it from the area. 4On a second approach, either the same jet or another Russian fighter then hit the drone's propeller. This caused the unmanned aircraft to crash into the sea. 5The video does not show events before or after the incident and does not show the Russian warplane striking the drone. 6Russia had claimed that its fighters did not strike the drone. Russian officials said the unmanned vehicle went down after making a sharp movement. 7Russia and NATO member countries regularly intercept each other's warplanes. But the drone incident marked the first time since the Cold War that a U.S. aircraft went down as a result of such action. The incident also raises concerns that it could bring the United States and Russia closer to direct conflict. 8The incident was serious enough that top U.S. and Russian defense and military leaders spoke with each other on Wednesday. 9The calls between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, as well as between Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russian General Staff, were the first since October. 10The Russian Defense Ministry's report of the call said that Shoigu accused the U.S. of causing the incident by ignoring Russia's flight restrictions in the area. Russia argues that by providing weapons and sharing intelligence with Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies have effectively been involved in the war. 11The wings of the unmanned MQ-9 are 20 meters wide. It operates using a ground control station and satellite equipment. The drone also can carry weapons. But a Defense spokesperson would not say whether the drone had been armed. 12The video's release is the latest example of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden making public intelligence findings related to the war. The administration has said it wants to highlight Russian activity and misinformation, so allies remain clear about Russian aims. 13Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the decision of whether or not to recover the wreckage was up to the military. "If they consider it necessary to do so in the Black Sea for the benefit of our interests and our security, they will do it," he said. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Wednesday that an attempt would be made. 14U.S. officials have said that nothing of military value would remain from the drone even if Russia managed to recover the wreckage. They left open the possibility of trying to recover parts of the $32 million aircraft, which they said crashed into waters that were 1,200 to 1,500 meters deep. The U.S., however, does not have any ships in the area. 15I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 16Karl Ritter and Dino Hazell reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17__________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19drone -n. a pilotless aircraft that is used for taking pictures or for military purposes 20propeller -v. a device with blades that turn quickly to provide power for airplanes or boats 21approach -v. to move nearer to something 22intercept -v. to go out and meet a target that is traveling to a certain place before that target get to the place it is going 23__________________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. 25Here is how our comment system works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.