Pentagon Video Shows Russian Jet Dumping Fuel On US Drone
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Pentagon has released video of what it said was a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone before the warplane clipped the drone’s propeller in international airspace, leading to its crash in the Black Sea and raising tensions between Moscow and Washington.
The U.S. military’s declassified 42-second color footage shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 Reaper drone and releasing fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said.
Dumping the fuel appeared to be aimed at blinding the drone’s optical instruments to drive it from the area.
Poland, meanwhile, says it’s giving Ukraine a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the first NATO member to fulfill Kyiv’s increasingly urgent requests for warplanes.
