Russian fighter jet dumps fuel on US drone before hitting propeller, Pentagon video shows; Seth Moulton calls it ‘reckless’ behavior from Putin’s military

A Russian fighter jet dumped fuel on a U.S. drone before hitting its propeller in international airspace over the Black Sea, according to a new declassified video released by the Pentagon, as tensions continue to rise between Washington and Moscow.

This latest incident of Russian fighter pilots harassing U.S. aircraft happened between two Russian Su-27s and a $32 million U.S. Air Force surveillance MQ-9 Reaper drone — which ended up getting damaged and crashing into the sea.

This was the first time since the Cold War that a U.S. aircraft went down during a confrontation with Russia.

“By targeting an unarmed, unmanned U.S. plane in international airspace, Putin’s military knowingly and deliberately violated the law,” Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton said in a statement.

“This type of behavior is reckless and will not deter the U.S. from continuing to conduct its security missions wherever the law allows,” added Moulton, a military veteran.

Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9, the Pentagon said of Tuesday’s encounter.

After the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, U.S. forces said they were forced to let the drone crash into international waters. U.S. European Command released the declassified footage on Thursday.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of the U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”