Everything we know about the US drone that crashed in the Black Sea

A US drone that crashed into the Black Sea is astatine the bosom of a caller enactment betwixt Washington and Moscow. The US has said it brought down the drone aft a Russian combatant pitchy clipped it.

Moscow has denied this, saying the drone caused its ain failure.

On Thursday morning, the Pentagon released footage of the incident. The BBC has not seen the events earlier oregon aft the collision.

Here is what we cognize astir the incident.

The US said its unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drone suffered harm connected 14 March aft 2 Russian Su-27 pitchy fighters intercepted it implicit the Black Sea.

One pitchy "struck the propeller" of the drone, the US said, forcing US forces "to person to bring the MQ-9 down successful planetary waters".

The confrontation lasted astir 30-40 minutes, US officials said. They claimed the Russian jets dumped substance connected the drone respective times earlier the collision.

The Russian pilot's actions "nearly caused some craft to crash," said Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder, adding that the Russian pitchy astir apt was damaged but was inactive capable to land.

US officials person not said whether the drone was carrying missiles.

Russia denies the US mentation of events. It blames the clang connected a "sharp manoeuvre" performed by the drone, alternatively than immoderate carnal interaction betwixt the aircrafts.

Moscow besides denies that immoderate of its jets were damaged during the encounter.

Russian officials said the drone was flying with its connection transponders turned off, and that it had violated restricted airspace.

After being summoned to talk to officials successful Washington, Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said Moscow saw the drone incidental arsenic "a provocation".

From the Kremlin's constituent of view, Mr Antonov added: "The unacceptable enactment of the US subject successful the adjacent proximity to our borders is simply a origin for concern."

After speaking by telephone to the US caput of defence for the archetypal clip since December, Russian defence curate Sergei Shoigu blamed the incidental connected "increased reconnaissance activities against the interests of the Russian Federation".

Russia has confirmed that it is attempting to retrieve wreckage of the drone, which whitethorn person sunk to depths of up to 5,000 feet (1,500m) beneath the surface.

"I don't cognize whether we'll beryllium capable to retrieve it oregon not but it has to beryllium done," Russian information assembly caput Nikolai Patrushev said connected authorities TV.

General Mark Milley, America's apical subject general, said that "mitigating measures" were taken to forestall immoderate delicate information from falling into Russia's hands.

On Wednesday, helium said that the US does not person immoderate ships successful the Black Sea, complicating hunt and betterment efforts, but it does "have a batch of allies and friends successful the area".

"We'll enactment done betterment operations, that's US property," helium told reporters, adding that determination was "probably not a batch to recover" anyway.

It remains unclear wherever the incidental took place. An unnamed US authoritative told CNN that it happened astir 45 miles southwest of the Crimean peninsula, and that the drone came down 70 miles southwest of the Russian-annexed Ukrainian territory.

Neither broadside denies that the incidental took spot aft Russia attempted to intercept the drone.

In the US, officials person speculated astir whether the Reaper was brought down deliberately oregon by accident.

General Milley said connected Wednesday that it is inactive excessively aboriginal to say.

But State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that "the champion appraisal close present is that it astir apt was unintentional".

"It astir apt was the effect of profound incompetence connected the portion of 1 of these Russian pilots."

Regardless, information is precocious erstwhile escalations similar this occur, says US General David Berger, commandant of the US Marine Corps.

On Tuesday helium told reporters that his 'biggest worry" is "either intentionally oregon unintentionally things bumping into each different causing a collision," creating an planetary crisis.

Tensions person risen implicit the Black Sea ever since Russia's widely-condemned annexation of adjacent Crimea successful 2014.

And since Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, the US and the UK person stepped up surveillance flights successful planetary airspace.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said connected Wednesday that relations betwixt the US and Russia are successful a "deplorable state", and astatine their "lowest point".

Washington has led efforts to spot fiscal sanctions connected Russia and has provided money, weapons, ammunition, and subject grooming to Ukraine.