In a display seize of a video clip launched by the U.S. Defense Department’s European Command, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet flies close to a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, spraying it with what seems to be jet gas, on Mar. 14 over the Black Sea.

Handout/US Defense Department European C

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Handout/US Defense Department European C

In a display seize of a video clip launched by the U.S. Defense Department’s European Command, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet flies close to a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, spraying it with what seems to be jet gas, on Mar. 14 over the Black Sea.

Handout/US Defense Department European C

MOSCOW — Russia’s Defense Ministry has awarded state honors to the pilots of two fighter jets the U.S. has accused of forcing down an American Reaper drone over the Black Sea earlier this week — the most recent twist in an incident that has sparked fears of direct army hostilities between the nuclear superpowers.

In a statement, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu offered state awards to the Su-27 pilots saying that they had “prevented” the American drone “intruder” from “violating” airspace restrictions that Russia unilaterally put in place throughout the battle in Ukraine.

The Ministry assertion once more repeated Russian assertions that the U.S. surveillance airplane was flying with its transponders off and had crashed into the water of its personal accord as a consequence of sudden sharp maneuvers.

“The Russian aircraft did not use onboard weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle and returned safely to their home airfield,” mentioned the Ministry.

The assertion got here in the future after the Pentagon released video footage that confirmed Russian warplanes twice spraying what seems to be gas onto the drone. The video feed cuts out, and a last clip exhibits a broken propeller blade on the drone.

The U.S. says its airplane was flying a routine sample in worldwide airspace over the Black Sea.

NPR has beforehand reported that U.S. officers imagine that the harassment of the downed U.S. drone by Russian fighter jets was accepted by senior Russian officers — at the same time as U.S. officers expressed uncertainty whether or not the pilot deliberately hit the drone or made a mistake.

Senior Kremlin officers say crews are actually working to get better the surveillance plane — arguing Washington was utilizing it to assist its allies in Kyiv determine Russian targets amid the struggle in Ukraine.

State media have run unconfirmed stories that Russian restoration crews have already detected the drone’s location — simply over 35 miles from the Crimean port metropolis of Sevastopol in waters some 3,000 toes deep.

Even because the White House has insisted the U.S. will proceed with “routine” reconnaissance missions in worldwide airspace, Russia has warned it sees such flights as “provocations” that will warrant an identical Russian response.