US Drone Downed After Collision With 'Unprofessional' Russian Fighter Over Black Sea; Moscow Disputes US Account

Russia is disputing the Pentagon’s account of how a large U.S. military drone was downed over the Black Sea on Tuesday, denying the U.S. assertion that a Russian fighter jet being flown in a “reckless and unprofessional” manner clipped the unmanned aerial vehicle.

U.S. Europe Command said the MQ-9 drone, flying over international waters, was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 fighters, whose pilots “dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.”

One of the Russian jets then struck the propeller...