Did PUTIN sign off on move that brought US drone down? Kremlin’s ‘highest levels’ called for jets to be ‘aggressive’ with Reaper, new report claims as Russian ships surround Black Sea crash site to find debris

• New footage shows the moment a Russian fighter collided with a US drone
• DOD says US brought down the Reaper surveillance drone in Black Sea 
• Intel officials say top levels at Kremlin approved aggressive intercept 

Officials familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments believe top-level Kremlin officials approved the aggressive intercept by two Russian jets that resulted in a U.S. Reaper drone being brought down in the Black Sea.

The high-altitude confrontation – captured on video released by the Pentagon Thursday – came from the ‘highest levels’ at the Kremlin, officials familiar with the intelligence told NBC. 

‘Russian leadership’s intention to be aggressive in the intercept,’ one of the officials said.

That description fits what the video appears to show – with a Russian Su-27 jet dumping a load of fuel on top of the $32 million drone, which the Pentagon said was flying over international waters. 

One official told the network he had not received indications the order went all the way up to Putin, although the Russian president is known to insert himself personally into battlefield decisions on the prosecution of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the incident that led to the downing of a U.S. Reaper drone said the ‘highest levels’ at the Kremlin approved the ‘aggressive’ Russian intercept over the Black Sea. One official said he didn’t get indications it went all the way to President Vladimir Putin

The matter has escalated into a major international incident.

Amid fears of further confrontation and Moscow disputing the U.S. account that its jet crashed into the drone’s single propeller, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley had a call with Russian military Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a call with his, Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, their first in months. It was Austin’s first call with Shoigu since October.

‘We take any potential for escalation very seriously. And that’s why I believe it’s important to keep the lines of communication open,’ Austin said at the Pentagon. ‘I think it’s really key that we’re able to pick up the phone and engage each other. And I think that that will help to prevent miscalculation going forward.’ 

He chided Russia for engaging in ‘dangerous and reckless and unprofessional behavior’ over international waters. He said the drone was conducting ‘routine’ operations. 

Milley stopped short of saying the Russian jet intentionally collided with the drone. 

‘We know that the intercept was intentional. We know that the aggressive behavior was intentional,’ he said. 

Drone camera footage released by the Pentagon shows the terrifying confrontation as an Su-27 jet approaches from behind, clips its propeller and dumps fuel over it in international airspace on Tuesday.

US forces had to bring down the $32million surveillance drone in international waters after the encounter, sparking a race between Moscow and Washington to recover it.

The dramatic 42-second clip follows Russian claims its jet did not make contact with the drone, instead claiming the drone crashed on its own after ‘sharp maneuvering’.

Video shows the Russian fighter approaching the American drone from behind and beginning to release fuel as it passes – the Pentagon said

Released footage shows the moment a Russian fighter dumped fuel on an American drone

Moscow also said it would work to retrieve the wreckage in what would be a propaganda coup for Putin, after earlier warning that it will ‘consider any action with US weaponry as openly hostile’.

U.S. officials have said the drone is in deep water thousands of feet below the surface, and Milley said it is ‘no longer’ of intelligence value.

The drone ‘probably broke up, probably not a lot to recover, frankly,’ Milley said. ‘As far as the loss of anything of sensitive intelligence etc., as normal we would take — and we did take — mitigating measures. So we are quite confident that whatever was of value is no longer of value,’ he added. 

This is the first direct confrontation between Russia and the US since the start of the war in Ukraine, and comes hours after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Russian counterpart, calling the encounter ‘provocative in nature’ and saying it risked escalating the situation around the Black Sea.

The newly-declassified clip shared today shows the unmanned drone come into contact with a Russian jet after flying ‘in the vicinity’ of the aircraft for 30 to 40 minutes just after 7am CET (6am GMT) on Tuesday.

The sequential video, edited by the US military for length, shows one of two Russian jets flying over international waters pull up on the drone, approaching from behind.

READ MORE: Race to find crashed US drone is ON: Moscow warns it WILL try to get its hands on downed $32m Reaper to secure propaganda coup as scramble to recover wreckage from Black Sea gets underway

The jet is shown to dump fuel as it passes. Fuel dumping is usually used by aircraft in emergency situations to lose weight.

The drone’s camera suffers damage before it is forced to make an emergency landing in international waters below.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby slammed Russia’s actions as reckless and dangerous.

But the Russian defense ministry pushed back, saying in a statement, ‘Russian fighters did not use airborne weapons and did not come into contact with the American drone.

‘Due to sharp maneuvering, the American drone went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface.’

Kirby asserted on Tuesday that the State Department would address ‘concerns over this unsafe and unprofessional intercept’ with their Russian counterparts.

He added that the collision would not ‘deter or dissuade’ US forces from flying or operating in international airspace. 

Russia’s Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, meanwhile accused the US of committing an ‘act of provocation’.

He warned Washington it must stop ‘hostile’ flights near his country’s border – or face the consequences.

The US has maintained its position that Russia intentionally clashed with the drone, as appears to be the case in the declassified video. 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told reporters: ‘We know that the intercept was intentional. We know that the aggressive behavior was intentional.’

Even so, the incident has triggered fears that such a mistake or misunderstanding could spark an escalation in hostilities.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday in their first call since October.

‘I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu,’ Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing.

‘As I’ve said repeatedly, it’s important that great powers be models of transparency and communication, and the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.’

Russia said it made clear in the call that it sees things differently and that US aerial operations in the region are a threat.

The defense ministry statement said after Sergei Shoigu’s telephone conversation with Austin: ‘It was noted that flights by American strategic lethal drones by the Crimea coastline were provocative in nature and created pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone.’

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian ships had been seen near the area where the drone had crashed, though they did not appear to have recovered any parts of the drone yet. It was not clear if the ships were still in the area. 

The plane begins to dump fuel on the drone before the camera suffers damage 

The drone’s camera stabilizes after the SU-27 passes overhead, clipping its propeller

Video shows damage to the drone after the jet dumped fuel over it in the Black Sea

After the clash, the onboard camera shows a broken propeller (L) and a comparative operational propeller (R) turning. Russia previously said it did not make contact with the drone

According to US officials the MQ-9 Reaper drone was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 jets that dumped fuel on top of the drone before clipping its propeller, forcing it to crash

The $32million US Reaper drone taken out of the sky by Russia

An American MQ-9 Reaper drone (left) and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet (right)

Amid the confrontation in the air, Ukrainian forces continue in their long engagement with Russian forces around Bakhmut

Russia has pledged to recover the drone after it crashed into the Black Sea, near Ukraine.

Kremlin Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev previously told the Rossiya-1 TV channel: ‘I don’t know whether we will be able to retrieve it or not, but that it has to be done. And we’ll certainly work on it. I hope, of course, successfully.’

But General Milley played down the prospect of losing sensitive technology, stressing measures had been taken to ensure no information could be recovered by foreign actors from the remains of the drone.

He said: ‘As far as the loss of anything sensitive … intelligence etc … as normal we would take — and we did take mitigating measures — so we are quite confident that whatever was of value is no longer of value.’

General Milley said the intercept and harassment of the drone was intentional, but it was unclear whether Russian pilots meant to slam their aircraft into the drone – which could put the Russian jets at risk. 

He added that the drone had gone down in four or five thousand feet of water.

‘We don’t have any ships there. But we do have a lot of allies and friends in the area that will work through recovery operations,’ he said.

‘That’s US property, and we’ll leave it at that at this point.

‘But it probably broke up. There’s probably not a lot to recover, frankly.’

Flight data showed a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft operating along the Romanian coastline, which borders the Black Sea, possibly related to a recovery mission.

On Tuesday night public flight data showed a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft was patrolling over the Romanian coastline, possibly related to a recovery operation 

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and U.S Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (not seen) hold a joint press conference in Pentagon Arlington-Virginia, United States on March 15, 2023

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley (not seen) and U.S Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hold a joint press conference in Pentagon Arlington-Virginia, United States on March 15, 2023

The Sukhoi Su-27 is a Soviet twin-engine fighter flown since 1977 and in operation by Soviet Air Forces since 1985.

It is used by the Russian Air Force, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force of China, and others.

The MQ-9 Reaper drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, often used for reconnaissance.

Sometimes called Predator B, the MQ-9 can also be loaded with missiles to conduct precision airstrikes.

They cruise at 208mph and can reach a maximum altitude of 32,808ft.

The drones use rotating ‘eyeball’ cameras to capture a wide field of view. 

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