Video shows Russian jet dumping fuel on US Reaper drone during ‘reckless’ interception over Black Sea

Published

2 years ago

March 17, 2023

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The US Air Force has released video said to show a Russian jet intercepting an American drone and dumping fuel on it over the Black Sea.

It said two Russian Su-27 jets flew close to the MQ-9 Reaper before one hit its propeller and forced remote operators to crash it into the ocean.

Tuesday’s incident has shown the increasing risk of direct confrontation between the superpowers as fighting continues in nearby Ukraine.

Defending the decision by the US to release the footage, Brigadier Pat Ryder said they felt it was important to show the “reckless” and “dangerous” behaviour of the Russians.

He said that the US “took steps to protect information aboard [the] aircraft”, and have indications that Russia is “likely making an effort” to recover debris of the drone.

“It is very unlikely they are able to recover anything useful,” he said.

Mr Ryder added that the US does not seek conflict with Russia, and will continue to support Ukraine.

Retired air vice-marshal Sean Bell said that the jet’s manoeuvre was probably an attempt to “wash the fuel into the drone’s engine and therefore take it out”.

“As he pulls the aircraft up, he hasn’t got the aerodynamics because he’s isn’t flying very fast… [the plane] gets very close to the body of the drone and almost certainly just clips the propeller,” he told Sky News.

Mr Bell called the pilot “incompetent” but said the collision was likely an accident because it also put the Russian plane in danger.

The MQ-9 Reaper – which has a 20-metre (66ft) wingspan and cost about $32m (£26m) – is often used for surveillance but can also be armed.

American officials have accused the Russian pilots of flying in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner”.

Moscow has denied the jets behaved dangerously and said they didn’t come into contact with the drone, claiming it crashed due to “sharp manoeuvring”.

It said the Reaper was flying towards the Russian border with its transponders – wireless communication devices – turned off.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu accused the US of ignoring flight restrictions imposed by Russia due to the Ukraine war.

America has insisted the drone was in international airspace and well clear of the conflict zone.

The seriousness of the incident has prompted the first calls since October between the countries’ defence secretaries and top commanders.

Russia has said it will try to recover the remains of the drone but no parts appear to have been recovered so far, a US official, speaking anonymously, told Reuters.

Washington said the aircraft came down in water about 1,200 to 1,500m deep and that measures had been taken to ensure no sensitive information could be gathered.

There are no American ships in the region so its own recovery attempts are unlikely, according to US officials.

A day after the incident, UK and German fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft which failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control.

The Ministry of Defence described it as a “routine” NATO mission.

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

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5 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Belgium announces it will recognise Palestinian state

The Belgian government has said it will officially recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly this month.

The country’s foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, announced it will join the UK, France, Canada, and Australia in recognising a Palestinian state.

Belgium will also introduce “firm sanctions” against the Israeli government, he said, including a ban on imports from West Bank settlements and possible judicial prosecutions.

The Israeli foreign ministry and its Belgian embassy have not yet commented on the announcement.

However, its foreign ministry previously said the UK’s plan to recognise Palestine “constitutes a reward for Hamas”.

Sir Keir Starmer announced in July that the UK would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel meets certain conditions, those being:

• Israel takes substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“

• Israel agrees to a ceasefire

• Israel commits to a long-term sustainable peace – reviving the prospect of a two-state solution

• Israel must allow the UN to restart the supply of aid

• There must be no annexations in the West Bank

In response, the Israeli foreign ministry said: “The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.”

The UN General Assembly session in New York will begin on 9 September. Ireland, Spain, and Norway all officially recognised a Palestinian state last year.

Out of the 193 United Nations member states, 147 already recognise Palestine as a state as of March 2025.

Earlier this month, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he said would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.

It comes after US secretary of state Marco Rubio revoked the visas of 81 delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – blocking them from attending the general assembly.

Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is now more than 63,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

It added that nine more people, including three children, died of malnutrition and starvation over Monday, raising deaths from such causes to at least 348, including 127 children.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.

World

Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump’s aid cuts

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5 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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Afghanistan earthquake: A catastrophe compounded by Trump's aid cuts

Earthquakes represent a constant danger in Afghanistan – a country which sits across three geological fault lines.

This most recent rupture near the city of Jalalabad – leaving more than 800 people dead – represents the third major quake in the past four years.

But the people of this impoverished nation are vulnerable in a number of ways.

The impact of foreign aid cuts

Since the Taliban took control in 2021, the international community has withdrawn much of the financial support which formed the bulk of government spending in Afghanistan.

Even humanitarian aid, which generally bypasses government institutions, has shrunk substantially – from $3.8bn (£2.8bn) in 2022 to $767m (£566.6m) this year.

The US government, through its international development arm USAID, provided 45% of all assistance granted to Afghanistan last year – but the Trump administration has slashed those sums.

The UK, along with France, Germany, Sweden, and others have also made deep cuts to humanitarian aid.

As a consequence, hundreds of hospitals and local health clinics in the country have been shut this year and related medical posts have been lost.

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This crisis comes as the country tries to absorb millions of people who fled when the Taliban took power. More than two million have come back this year, with Pakistan and Iran taking measures to force their return.

On arrival, they discover a country where more than half the population requires urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the UN – with millions suffering from acute food insecurity.

Large parts of northern Afghanistan have been stricken with the long-term drought.

A catastrophe compounded in a nation that ranks as one of the poorest – and most desperate – on Earth.

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More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

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5 hours ago

September 2, 2025

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More than 1,000 feared dead in Sudan landslide, rebel group says

More than 1,000 people are feared dead after a landslide in a village in western Sudan, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM) has said.

The rebel group said only one survivor was found, and that the village in the Marrah Mountains area, in the Darfur region, was destroyed.

SLM leader Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said in a statement that the landslide struck on Sunday, 31 August, after days of heavy rainfall.

He appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies for help in recovering the bodies.

The SLM controls the area located in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

Fleeing the civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), residents had sought shelter in the Marrah Mountains area, where food and medication are insufficient.

In January, the US determined that the RSF and its militias were committing genocide in Sudan.

The RSF rejected the claim and said: “America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong.”

The RSF has been fighting Sudan’s army for territorial control of the country since war erupted in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023.

The ensuing devastation has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis ever recorded – with over 11 million people forced out of their homes, tens of thousands dead, and 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Minni Minnawi, leader of a faction of the group, said in March last year that 1,500 troops would support the Sudanese army in the civil war against the RSF, according to the Sudan Tribune.