In a display seize of a video clip launched by the U.S. Protection Division’s European Command, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet flies close to a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, spraying it with what seems to be jet gas, on Mar. 14 over the Black Sea.

Handout/US Protection Division European C

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Handout/US Protection Division European C

In a display seize of a video clip launched by the U.S. Protection Division’s European Command, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet flies close to a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, spraying it with what seems to be jet gas, on Mar. 14 over the Black Sea.

Handout/US Protection Division European C

MOSCOW — Russia’s Protection Ministry has awarded state honors to the pilots of two fighter jets the U.S. has accused of forcing down an American Reaper drone over the Black Sea earlier this week — the most recent twist in an incident that has sparked fears of direct army hostilities between the nuclear superpowers.

In an announcement, Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu offered state awards to the Su-27 pilots saying they’d “prevented” the American drone “intruder” from “violating” airspace restrictions that Russia unilaterally put in place in the course of the battle in Ukraine.

The Ministry assertion once more repeated Russian assertions that the U.S. surveillance airplane was flying with its transponders off and had crashed into the water of its personal accord because of sudden sharp maneuvers.

“The Russian plane didn’t use onboard weapons, didn’t come into contact with the unmanned aerial car and returned safely to their house airfield,” mentioned the Ministry.

The assertion got here someday after the Pentagon launched video footage that confirmed Russian warplanes twice spraying what seems to be gas onto the drone. The video feed cuts out, and a last clip reveals a broken propeller blade on the drone.

The U.S. says its airplane was flying a routine sample in worldwide airspace over the Black Sea.

NPR has beforehand reported that U.S. officers consider that the harassment of the downed U.S. drone by Russian fighter jets was accredited by senior Russian officers — whilst U.S. officers expressed uncertainty whether or not the pilot deliberately hit the drone or made a mistake.

Senior Kremlin officers say crews are actually working to get well the surveillance plane — arguing Washington was utilizing it to assist its allies in Kyiv determine Russian targets amid the struggle in Ukraine.

State media have run unconfirmed stories that Russian restoration crews have already detected the drone’s location — simply over 35 miles from the Crimean port metropolis of Sevastopol in waters some 3,000 toes deep.

Even because the White Home has insisted the U.S. will proceed with “routine” reconnaissance missions in worldwide airspace, Russia has warned it sees such flights as “provocations” that might warrant an analogous Russian response.