Russian leadership approved aggressive actions of jets that damaged U.S. drone, U.S. officials say
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • last year • 177 commentsBy: Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence said the highest levels of the Kremlin approved the aggressive actions of Russian military fighter jets against a U.S. military drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
The Russian jets dropped jet fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper, an unprecedented action, and two of the officials said the intelligence suggests the intent seemed to be to throw the drone off course or disable its surveillance capabilities.
It was "Russian leadership's intention to be aggressive in the intercept," said one of the officials.
One official said he had not gotten indications that the signoff went all the way up to Putin. Other officials declined to provide specifics beyond "highest levels."
The Russian jet actually clipping the propeller of the drone — which the U.S. says occurred and Russia denies — was likely not intentional, said the officials, who believe it was pilot error, based on U.S. video of the incident.
Three defense officials and one Biden administration official also said the Russians have already reached the area where the MQ-9 Reaper crashed. The Russians are actively looking for the debris with ships and aircraft, but the U.S. hasn't seen any indication that they've been able to recover any of it, officials said. One official said much of the debris sank into the Black Sea.
The U.S. is unlikely to try to recover the remnants of the crashed drone, according to the three U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence.
Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a news conference on Wednesday that there's probably not a lot of debris to recover and noted the part of the Black Sea where the drone landed is as much as 5,000-feet deep.
He reiterated, as other U.S. officials have said, that the U.S. took steps to disable software on the drone so the Russians would not be able to glean any highly sensitive information from it if they were to recover pieces of it.
John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in an interview with NBC News that the Russians were deliberately trying to get close to the drone.
"What we don't know is how intentional the collision with the drone was," Kirby said. "It is possible that this was just a reckless, incompetent piece of aviation by the pilot."
In lieu of additional comment, a spokesperson for the National Security Council pointed to previous comments by Kirby, Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The U.S. has said the drone was flying in international airspace over international waters. Russia has warned the U.S. to stop coming so close to its borders.
Milley said the incident is part of a pattern of behavior by Russia that has recently gotten more aggressive.
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No commentary from the peanut gallery?
I'm sure there are those who thought a spy plane flying over the Black Sea was fairly aggressive.
The only question now is what does our cowardly leader do about it?
Ignore you, and rightfully so, is my guess.
Great answer! Solves the problem completely! Brandon ignoring Vic completely solves the issue of Russia downing a US drone over international waters!
It also solves the entire Ukraine quagmire that Brandon has lead the US into. It also solves China/Taiwan problem. US gas prices. Inflation. Economy. Crime. Our wide open southern border and illegal immigration.
Brandon should be immediately and permanently be sequestered in the nearest basement; and given all of the ice cream he desires. It is the only way to insure make sure he always ignores Vic- who he has probably never read a comment of; or even heard of.
Brandon ignoring Vic (and reality it seems) will guarantee him and Democrats a resounding win in 2024.
So what's your suggestion other than some nonsense about basements and ice cream? Vic, and it appears you also, are part of Tucker's possy of shit 'army'.
Let him join the hate group
And you are part of the old Newsvine pile of shit army
Nice try, I was banned by them several times.
Good for them
BTW Vic, what did America's "cowardly leader" do in 2018?
What do you suggest?
It also solves the entire Ukraine quagmire that Brandon has lead the US into.
The US is NOT IN the Ukraine.
Russia is in the "quagmire".
Should the US and the European countries let Putin take any sovereign country he wants?
Remember when you and some other idiots on NewsVine created an attack nation nation to eliminate ButtHeads Nation?
How did that work out?
[Deleted]
Isn't your group all full up?
According to DickSantis it's a territorial dispute.
Is that what murdering innocents and invading a soverign nation means?
I wrote a short story dealing with drone on drone warfare back in the 60s.
Who knew?
Heinlein was also a few decades ahead of everybody else as well.
Yes
We also had ships in the Black Sea at the time- which is where the plane came from.
Did the fighter collide with our plane? Dump fuel on it? Damage it in any way? Force it to land?
Russia and China have been pulling this shit for the last several administrations. Remember the Chinese fighter that collided with our spy plane over international waters and it made a forced landing in China during Bush Jr's administration? Remember the drone that Iranian hackers brought down- in tact no less- during Obama's? Or how about the Iranians capturing US sailors and detaining them after one of the diesel engines on their craft failed at the end of Obama's reign?
WTF was our drone doing in the Black Sea when we don't have any vessels there? Think Russia is fucking stupid or something? That they don't know which country is propping Ukraine up militarily and financially? Is giving them tactical support by reporting where Russia's ships are so Ukraine can launch missiles at them?
This is just another provocation to the start of WWIII by both sides. But you can having a pissing match over which country started it when the nuclear missiles are flying.
You need to learn the definition of quagmire.
Is there any end in sight to the Ukraine/Russian war? How many billions or even trillions more are we going to send to Ukraine in financial and military aid? How much do you expect the US taxpayer to suffer so a bunch of Establishment prick politicians can prop up their family and friend kickback slush funds? How high will interest rates need to rise to combat the inflation caused by blank check spending on Ukraine?
Are we escalating the situation? Is Russia rising to every provocation? Is the threat of direct conflict between the US and Russia increasing?
No fucking kidding. More than one country can be involved in a "quagmire". See Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.
Love the hyperbole. Russia can't even take Ukraine. His army is decimated; and economy is wrecked. Even if he takes Ukraine how long will he be able to hold it? How much will it cost him?
Remember when we supposedly had a doctrine of not entering into military conflicts unless the US has something to gain? WTF does Ukraine have that the US needs so damn badly?
If Russia is such a threat why aren't European countries stepping more? The least they could do is combine to match what the US is spending in Ukraine.
Ukraine is Putin's quagmire, not Biden's...
aren't those the pressing issues that maga scum in congress ran on last election? maybe they'll get around to them after they remove the freedom of bodily autonomy from 51% of the population, finish destroying our public education system, and turning the first amendment into swiss cheese.
... and the expected pathetic reply. there, there, those days of soup and jello are just around the corner at the home for defective mackerel snapper relics of the 50's...
Somebody has some nerve....
Gathering intelligence I would assume.
Um yeah.
meh, I've been giving massive egos reality checks for over 50 years, why stop now...
I wasn't talking about you but yes, that someone does have an undeserved massive ego
it'll be fun watching his hero cleave his party next year, you know, provided said hero isn't at club fed by then...
Well, it doesn't exist today....
Really, so the US can just walk away at any time. Stop funding Ukraine financially, militarily, and giving them training and intelligence at any time. Just drop things and go.
Without a bunch of arm chair warriors screaming "Russia will take over all of Europe!"
Without our NATO allies throwing a massive hissy fit and demanding more US troops be stationed at every NATO country bordering Ukraine. We already have troops stationed there; but they won't be nearly enough to contain NATO's hysteria.
Brandon couldn't back out Ukraine if he wanted to. That is the very definition of quagmire. A never ending war sucking down our money, military hardware and resources, and draining our economy through inflation.
But keep spinning as more banks fail due to Brandon, Democrat, and Establishment Republican stupidity.
... full of something.
Hopefully, send Tucker Carlson to deal with it which would mean sucking on an ice cream cone and whining which Warrior Carlson is excellent at.
Fox News answer to Steven Segal.
drop him over the russian lines with a sack of swanson TV dinners...
That little orchid would shit his pants if he ever had to leave his cozy Fox office
he might be safer over there after dominion neuters rupert and the FOX limo and security go away.
You think someone like Don Lemon wouldn't?
Nah.
Don Lemon is gay.
He's not interested in Michelle Yeoh.
Of course not, he just doesn’t want to be beat up by her.
possibly, but I don't he's a russian collaborator. tucker carlson definitely is, and has admitted he is willing to lie for profit.
Exactly, Don wasn't lying when he said that he felt that women over 20, 30, 40 were past their prime.
Well, he was a democrat for 15 years, so I imagine it is very difficult to get that many years of stink off you.
No shit?
Perhaps he is afraid of her.
... how long do you think it'll take to get the stench of trumpski off the GOP?
What do you suggest, tough guy?
Do you think we need to go to war with Russia over this incident?
Arm chair warriors who have never seen the shit are first to call for it.
Where have you served?
I can't answer for cjcold (or anyone else) butt I served in VF-102 on the USS Independence (mainly).
I enjoyed serving (nobody was shooting at us) and we didn't lose a drop of the ocean on my watch.
Did you see any combat?
You do know that there are more planes in the ocean than there are ships in the sky - right?
why travel when there's plenty of russian collaborators already here...
Didn't Steele collaborate with Russians? Didn;t Hillary pay for him to do it?
got anything from this decade? and turn off FOX news...
Do you have anything at all? And quit watching Soros liberal propaganda stations.
To President Biden the gop is his peanut gallery!
At least Biden isn't a fucking traitor like Donald Fucking Trump.
Do you think Biden should go to war with Russia?
YES! Russia is very weak at this point in time.
Who cares if a few nuclear missiles are exchanged./s
ridiculous fluff.
Do you think it is better to fight a proxy war where thousands have been killed and millions displaced with a distinct possibility Vlad will use Nukes anyway if backed into a corner?
If that was a concern maybe we should have let Vlad take Ukraine and not subject a country to a year of hell and still have the possibility of a few nukes as a last Vlad act if it looks like he will lose?
That is old school surrender monkey talk.
Yet our Republic barely survived Trump...
That is mindless gibberish.
BARELY SURVIVED?
nope which is why I'm not disappointed!
Derp.
Finally, a new one. How many times do you think you will use this in the next few weeks?
Trump isn't either unless you can provide hard evidence of that. Besides I thought you lefties liked trailers like Jane (Hanoi Jane) and John (our soldiers are like Genghis Khan) Kerry and Gary Bergdhal and others.
“Trump isn't…”
….anything but an aberration, an opportunist, a blot in our history that will forever be compared to incompetency, incoherence, insecurity, and insurrection.
and he's fat
…and fatuous.
... the 4 cornerstones of maga christo-fascism.
And he was a far better president than the shitbird we got now
Why does Stormy have Stacey Abrams panties.?
Why will hush money to stormy bring down an ex-president? Because it is self-imposed, self-serving and self-evident.
But it is not illegal..
I guess that depends on one's definition of treason does it not?
This thread illustrates that partisan Republicans are fucking cowards.
They call President Biden a coward butt they are afraid to say what they think should be done about the Russians taking down our drone.
It's easy to criticize Biden (as usual) butt without stating their own strategy, it indicates that they have no fucking strategy.
We are already hitting Putin in the mouth with severe sanctions.
I don't know what kind of escalation they may advocate because they are afraid to say.
Is Putin trying to draw us into a war by attacking our drone? If so, should we risk a nuclear exchange over a fucking drone?
The drone thingy is much ado about nothing.
Just boys having fun with their toys.
Maybe, maybe not. You don't think it is possible Vlad did it on purpose to see our reaction and a reaction of "much ado about nothing" will give him an idea he can get away with some more shit and our President will not wake up long enough to make a decision?
It's easy to criticize anything.
I would like to hear your solution.
Do you want to go to war with Russia over this incident?
Do you think it is better to fight a proxy war where thousands have been killed and millions displaced with a distinct possibility Vlad will use Nukes anyway if backed into a corner?
Yes.
I think we should provide Ukraine with the resources they need to protect their country from Putin's invasion.
We should have done that a year ago. Before thousands died, millions were displaced and the infrastructure was largely trashed. IMO the way we are doing it is cruel. I have to wonder if the US secretly hoped Ukraine would have gone quietly, or at least given up with the original pittance we offered them.
Why do you mistakenly think that women don't fly AF drones?
I think Biden should flash back to the good old days, pretend Putin is Corn Pop, and really dish it out to him!
Are you advocating war with Russia?
Does "dish it out to him" mean something different where you come from?
I have never heard a human adult mistake "dish it out to him" for "let's go to war".
Talk about disconnect.
Brandon claims he forced Corn Pop to back down from a fight in which Brandon was outnumbered.
How about Brandon grab his imaginary chain and head to Russia for a one on one with Putin?
I am sure Brandon can force Putin to back down the same way he did Corn Pop.
And yet, he persists.
I guess the sanctions aren't quite having the desired effect.
Do you want to go to war with Russia?
Is that what you think the words you read mean?
Why say exactly what you think we should do?
Answering a question with one.
Classic deflection technique.
Oh tex, how soon we forget. See 3.3.2. in response to a question.
We?? Got a mouse in your pocket?
Sorry your memory is poor.
The question he posed was so fucking stupid and far from what I wrote it wasn't worthy of even considering answering.
Of course, following the entire conversation would have revealed that to you.
“The question he posed was so fucking stupid…”
…as is that excuse…
If you can HONESTLY read my post 3.3 and still come to the conclusion that his 'question' was appropriate and actually related to my post, then I have nothing else for you that you would ever be able to understand.
You successfully quoted part of my statement.
Congrats.
We risked a nuclear war with the first support we sent Ukraine. We risk it with every new weapon we send them. Putin threatens the use of Nukes every day.
Wouldn't a measured response be knocking out a Russian drone? More saber rattling could be expected from Putin but do you think he would start a nuclear war if we drop one of his drones considering he hasn't done it with everything else we have already done? More then likely he would use it to try and gain support from his people for the "attack on a Russian drone" but let's face it, he lies all the time anyway.
Might be but unfortunately the Russians don't have any drones nearly comparable to the one they brought down.
maybe it is because it's the president's call to make., Not theirs.
And those sanctions are having little or no effect.
is that what fucker carlson is telling maga russian sympathizers?
Russia monitors the sea lanes for grain shipments out of Odessa in accordance with negotiated agreements. The negotiated agreements allows Russia to conduct naval operations from Odessa to the Bosporus and to impose restrictions on other countries operating in and over that sea lane. The United Nations was involved in negotiating that agreement. The US drone was in a restricted area over the sea lane and did not have a legitimate reason for being there.
The United States is not at war with Russia so trying to justify a US drone operating in a restricted area as being over international waters really just blows smoke to hide another botched up job.
The unarmed drone was operating over international waters in international airspace.
It's still a restricted area. Even the United States extends restricted zones around its naval operations in international waters.
Why are you spewing Russian talking points?
Why are you upset that the facts don't align with US military talking points?
All that brass doesn't mean they're competent. These are the same military experts that planned the withdrawal from Afghanistan. These are the same military experts that had difficulty recovering a Chinese balloon from 47 feet of water and we still haven't heard what was recovered.
You seem to be projecting. I'm NOT "upset."
All that brass doesn't mean they're competent.
The Russian pilot was incompetent when he hit the drone.
The Russians denied that there was contact. The video for the drone shows the damage.
the same military experts that had difficulty recovering a Chinese balloon from 47 feet of water and we still haven't heard what was recovered.
You won't hear what was recovered. That shit is classified.
Are you getting compensated for posting Russian propaganda?
Perhaps 'emotionally disturbed' would be a better description than 'upset'.
The tip of one propeller blade was bent. That's not much damage. And the contact could have been caused by the drone; drones can maneuver unlike balloons.
The prop would have vibrated like crazy but the drone could have limped to Turkey's airspace and Turkey's national waters. Turkey is part of NATO isn't it? The pilot abandoned the aircraft instead of trying to save it; at no risk to themselves. That's okay, just buy another one.
Classified? China already knows what the balloon was carrying. Why is the US military protecting Chinese secrets?
No, I receive no compensation from anyone. I'll only be expected to pay for the incompetence of the US military.
There is video proof that the Russian plane was at fault. You just can't resist being a Russian asset and so you try to blame the drone. Yes the prop was bent and you have no idea how that affected the drone. Butt you still pretend to be an aeronautical engineer and assume it was still flyable.
Classified? China already knows what the balloon was carrying. Why is the US military protecting Chinese secrets?
Derp. The Chinese don't necessarily know what we were able to salvage from the balloon. That's why it's classified.
Отъебись.Ot"yebis'.Which pilot abandoned which aircraft ? The Russians abandoned their jet ?
Putin has since personally decorated the two incompetent(?) Sukhoi pilots involved in this.
Neither you nor anybody here have any idea what the true extent of the damage as done to the drone. They are loaded with very sensitive electronics that the shock if the impact may have affected leading to the loss of control. The propeller impact could have been just the start not to mention the dumped fuel being ingested into the engine.
So you think the entire military is incompetent?
Well, that's correct. The military has only released enough information to support its own narrative.
A US drone pilot handed Russia a victory. A Russian pilot downed a US aircraft without firing a shot. And the US military could only respond with finger-wagging and name calling.
What were you saying about incompetence?
Yes, that is the Kremlin's take on it all...
"What were you saying about incompetence?" Based on your commentary so far, anything I could say it seems you would deny and be mostly unable to comprehend. Your past commentaries on the Ukraine and Russian situation have shown you to be pro Russian and anti Ukrainian. That is your right, but don't be surprised or ticked off that others with more knowledge and military experience may disagree with you. I'm done. Have a good evening.
That is the military mindset. If you ain't with us, you're agin us. From my viewpoint the Russians are fighting the Russians. We don't need to be involved.
It's like choosing sides between 'good' Koreans and 'bad' Koreans or 'good' Vietnamese and 'bad' Vietnamese or 'good' Muslims and 'bad' Muslims. It's really a distinction without a difference.
Zelensky is just like Putin and Putin is just like Zelensky. It's a distinction without a difference.
The only reason the United States has been dragged into this quagmire is the military mindset.
Yet you will still maintain that the gop is not being influenced by Russian propaganda?
The gop is calling for Biden to escalate.
That's the gqp. It seems they're all controlled by putin and support him.
BS!
Really, Nerm?
Trump, who is leading in the polls, certainly isn't calling on Biden to escalate.
The only other candidate who is in double figures in the polling is DeSantis.
DeSantis recently said he is also opposed to aiding Ukraine.
The GOP has become the Party of Putin.
So, it looks like the fucking GOP agrees with you, Nerm.
Am I talking to Putin?
Maybe it's a Russian bot.
Rubio suggested that the drones have "wingmen".
Dumbass...that requires putting living, breathing humans in the path of Russian pilots who have orders to harass the drones. What does he think will happen if F-16s fly along side the drones? Does he know why the military uses drones more and more these days?
I missed that part, where was it?
Where does he say that the "wingman" has to be a piloted aircraft like an F16? Two drones are capable of flying together in formation.
Predator and other large US military drones fly singly for reasons. Two drones flying together in formation make for a larger and easier radar target. Single flying drones are more stealthy. Cheaper to lose one drone than two.
Any further aggression needs to be met with an equal response, a NATO response. If Russia wants this dance, then let's dance.
Sen. Mark Kelly flew with Russian pilots in the Navy and with NASA, and he said the Russian fighter jet running into a US drone shows 'how incompetent they are'
"I'm not surprised by this. I mean, I flew with Russian pilots, fighter pilots who couldn't fly formation. And I watched this video, and it's pretty obvious what happened. He lost sight of it, and he crashed into it," Kelly told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday .