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Russian fighter jet forces down U.S. military drone over Black Sea, U.S. says

The Russians claim the U.S. drone crashed on its own. Either way, it appears to be the most serious incident involving U.S. and Russian militaries in the volatile region in and around Ukraine.
An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft flies by during a training mission at Creech Air Force Base on Nov. 17, 2015
Updated March 14, 2023 at 5:56 PM ET

The U.S. military says a Russian fighter plane clipped the propeller of an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, forcing it to crash in the Black Sea. Russia offered a very different account, claiming the American drone crashed on its own.

What's not in dispute is the inflammatory nature of the incident, which comes at a time when U.S.-Russian tensions are

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