The Americans claim that the video of the collision with the drone “exposes Russian lies.”
Footage of the collision between a Russian fighter jet and an American drone over the Black Sea two days ago shows that “Russia lied about what happened”, the White House announced. Tuesday’s downing of the MK-9 drone is a first direct US-Russian incident since the beginning of the war in Ukraineand the two countries accused each other that the other was to blame.
The video shows a Russian Su-27 fighter jet coming very close to the drone and dumping fuel. a maneuver that US officials say proves his intent was to damage US aircraft.
The Russians deny the accusations
The video ends after another close-range Russian maneuver that, according to the Pentagon, resulted in a collision between a plane and a drone. The video ends scene of a damaged drone propeller, which the US side says was the result of a crash that caused the drone to become unmanageable and crash into the deep sea.
US releases Video of Russian SU-27 fighter jet colliding with MQ-9 dronepic.twitter.com/IKYBOKYukT
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1)March 16, 2023
Russia has denied the American accusations and claims that the two aircraft did not come into contact, but that the drone fell after sharp maneuvering. The White House says the footage refutes the Russian version of events.
US spokesman: It is clear that the fighter hit our drone
“The video absolutely exposes the Russian lie about what happened or what they say happened. When you look at the footage, it’s pretty clear that our drone was shot down by a fighter,” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The incident in international waters is a reminder of the risk of direct conflict between the US and Russia over Ukraine, which Moscow invaded more than a year ago and which receives intelligence and military assistance from Western allies.
(WORLD)