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The US government released footage of the incident after an unmanned US military drone crashed over the Black Sea. The US wants to use the material to substantiate its claim that a Russian fighter jet rammed a US military drone during the incident. The Russians had denied any responsibility for the crash and accused the Americans of provocation.

According to US information, the drone collided with a Russian fighter jet in international airspace over the Black Sea on Tuesday. The US military said two Russian fighter jets had begun an intercept maneuver. One of the fighter jets hit the propeller of the US drone. The US complained that the Russian pilots acted “unprofessional”, “unsafe” and “reckless”.

When asked whether the Russian pilots acted on purpose, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Washington on Wednesday that the Russian side carried out the interception and aggressive action on purpose. It remains to be seen whether the fighter jet deliberately hit the drone and forced it to the ground.

Moscow presents the incident very differently and denies any responsibility. The Russian fighter jets did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle. They went up to identify an unknown intruder over the Black Sea. The on-board radio was turned off and the drone headed for the Russian border. During a sharp evasive manoeuvre, she quickly lost height and fell.

The Russian military accused the US of provocation. In a phone call with his US counterpart on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Sergei Shoigu pointed out that the US had not observed any airspace closures related to the war in Ukraine, the ministry in Moscow said. In addition, the United States had increased its reconnaissance activities towards Russia. This is the reason for the incident. “It was stressed that the flights of strategic US drones on the coast of Crimea are provocative in nature,” the statement said.

Austin gave no details about the call, but made it clear that the United States would continue to fly and operate where international law allows. It is important to keep communication with Russia open. Milley stressed that the US did not want an escalation. “Incidents happen. And we clearly don’t want an armed conflict with Russia,” he said, answering the question of whether the incident was an act of war.

Russia wants to salvage the rubble

Russia wants to try to recover the debris to reveal what Washington actually intended with the drone mission. The US chief of staff emphasized that the downed US military drone was probably worthless. The drone is owned by the US and there is “probably not much to salvage”. With regard to the information collected by the drone, the US had taken “damage mitigation measures, as is customary in such cases”.

The drone is probably in about 4,000 to 5,000 feet of water depth, you know the place, Milley said. At this depth, rescue is “very difficult for everyone”. The US itself had no ships there. “But we have many allies and friends in the region who will help with the salvage work.”

The strategy behind the publication

The disclosure of the material follows a pattern Americans have seen in recent months. In view of the conflict in Ukraine, the US government has again and again released and released information from the Secret Service to refute Russia’s claims.

Given the Russian offensive war against Ukraine, the situation is particularly tense and there are fears that the US and Russia could end up in a direct military confrontation. (sda/dpa)