March 15, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said the United States does not know if the Russian fighter jet intentionally hit the American drone over the Black Sea.

This is something officials are looking into, he said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that he has a call scheduled with his Russian counterpart to discuss that point, among other things.

"We know that the intercept was intentional, we know that the aggressive behavior was intentional, we also know it was very unprofessional and very unsafe," Milley said.

As for the physical contact between the jet and drone "that remains to be seen."

However, Milley said the US has "absolute evidence of the contact and the intercept."

US officials have said two Russian jets dumped fuel on the US MQ-9 drone Tuesday in international airspace. Then, one jet "struck our MQ-9 aircraft, resulting in a crash," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Russia has denied that it had direct contact with the drone.

Russia is “running out of capability” after invading Ukraine more than a year ago, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. 

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin has “now had a year's worth of proof that the United States and the Contact Group will support Ukraine's right to defend itself for the long haul.”

“But Putin still hopes that he can wear down Ukraine and wait us out,” he added. “So we can't let up, and we won't.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday he had spoken on the phone with his Russian counterpart Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu following an altercation that forced a US drone to crash in the Black Sea.

He did not disclose any details about the conversation.

Austin said two Russian jets dumped fuel on the US MQ-9 drone that was "conducting routine operations" Tuesday in international airspace. Then, one jet "struck our MQ-9 aircraft, resulting in a crash." Russia has denied that it had direct contact with the drone.

Russian aircraft engaged in "dangerous and reckless and unprofessional behavior in the international airspace over the Black Sea," the secretary said.

The incident is part of a pattern of “aggressive, risky and unsafe" behavior from Russia, Austin added.

Ukrainian forces have shot down a Russian military plane near the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

Yermak posted a video on Telegram Wednesday that appears to show the downing of the plane.

CNN is unable to independently verify Yermak's claim. Ukraine's national news agency Ukrinform is also reporting the incident, quoting Yermak. 

In the video, a white parachute is seen, suggesting the pilot was able to eject. 

The Ukrainian military has shot down at least 304 Russian aircraft since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, to March 15, 2023, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry. CNN is unable to independently verify this number. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Russia’s downing of a US drone over the Black Sea “is being investigated.”

Speaking at a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Blinken declined to speak to the motive or intent behind the incident, saying he would let the investigation proceed.

“What I can say very clearly is this was a reckless and unsafe action,” Blinken said.

Blinken said the US is “in close coordination” with allies and partners on the matter.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters have captured a small settlement north of Bakhmut earlier on Wednesday.

In an audio message published on his media Telegram channel, Prigozhin claims Wagner fighters have captured the settlement of Zaliznianske, located about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) north of the embattled city.

"In the absence of ammunition, amid a projectile famine, in the hardest battles, the assault troops are widening the encirclement of Bakhmut. Zaliznianske settlement was taken by Wagner PMC assault troops this morning," he said.

CNN is unable to independently verify his claims.

In his message, Prigozhin again highlights what he calls "a projectile famine," alluding to tensions with Russia's Defense Ministry.

Prigozhin has frequently complained that his fighters are not receiving enough ammunition while doing the bulk of the fighting around Bakhmut.

The top US general is expected to speak with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday, a US defense official tells CNN, one day after a Russian jet collided with a US drone over the Black Sea in international airspace.

Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley is expected to speak with the Chief of Russian General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, by telephone on Wednesday, after the US and Russia put out different accounts of the incident over the Black Sea.

The two military leaders have not spoken since late December.    

More on this: It is unclear whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also speak with his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Such conversations often happen in tandem, with the top generals holding a conversation after the defense secretary and defense minister have spoken.

An American MQ-9 Reaper drone was forced down by Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea Tuesday — the first known interaction between US and Russian forces of this nature since the war in Ukraine began just over a year ago.

This type of US drone is remotely piloted and primarily used for collecting intelligence.

The move by Russia to use a fighter jet to take it down was "combative," Ret. US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton said in an analysis.

"They have this very sophisticated jet they're using to go after a really, what amounts to, a surveillance drone and they will do anything they can not only to irritate us but to destroy our capabilities," he said.

Here's a closer look at the US drone:

The United States erased sensitive software on the MQ-9 Reaper drone remotely before it crashed into the Black Sea to prevent Russia from collecting secret information, according to two US officials.

The steps to wipe the software were taken after the encounter between the drone and two Russian Su-27 fighter jets. The Russian jets dumped jet fuel in front of the US surveillance drone early Tuesday morning, after which one of the Russian jets collided with the drone, damaging its propellor and forcing the US to bring it down in the Black Sea.  

On Wednesday, Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said Russia will try to retrieve wreckage of the drone. Patrushev was formerly the chief of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) – the successor to the Soviet Union’s KGB.

“I don’t know if we will be able to get it or not, but we need to do it... And we will definitely look into it,” Patrushev said on Russian state TV Rossiya 1. 

The US does not have any Navy ships in the Black Sea, according to a Navy official, which would make any attempted US recovery effort extremely difficult and time-consuming.

On Tuesday, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said the US has taken steps to protect the “equities” associated with the drone.

The mid-air encounter occurred approximately 45 miles southwest of the Crimean peninsula, one US official said. The drone landed approximately 70 miles southwest of Crimea after gliding away from the occupied territory, the official added.