The US European command has released a dramatically declassified video of the moment a Russian fighter jet collided with a US drone over the Black Sea.
The video was shot with a camera on the underside of the MQ-9 Reaper drone and shows two different passes of the Su-27 jets to spray the UAV with jet fuel.
The second attempt shows how the jet collided with the propeller at the back of the drone.
Communication with the drone is then lost.
Russia this morning reportedly reached the spot where the drone was shot down – an act believed to have been ordered by Moscow – and is trying to retrieve the wreckage.
But General Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it has “sunk to a certain depth” and may never be found again.
11:19 am
Watch: FSB building in Russia on fire
A video has emerged showing the building of the FSB border service in Rostov-on-Don on fire.
The port city is located near the Ukrainian border in southeastern Russia.
Local residents heard an explosion and then black smoke began to pour from the building, according to local media reports.
“The emergency services have been sent… details are being clarified,” the Rostov-on-Don emergency services press service said in comments from the state-run TASS news agency.
It is not yet clear what caused the fire.
Since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February last year, there have been several incidents of reported sabotage attributed to Ukrainian partisans on Russian soil.
11:03 am
The best way to protect Moldova is to protect Ukraine: smart
The best way to defend Moldova from an attack by Russia is to protect Ukraine, Britain’s foreign secretary said on Thursday, though he refused to commit to sending weapons directly.
Asked by reporters if London was planning military support for Moldova, James Cleverly said: “We strongly believe that one of the best ways to protect Moldova from physical attack is to help the Ukrainians defend themselves against Russia. “
He was speaking on a visit to the Eastern European country, where he announced £10 million in British aid for economic and governance reform, including in the energy sector.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Moldova’s pro-Western government and its allies have feared they could be dragged into the conflict.
A leaked Kremlin document revealed that Russia plans to effectively control the country by the end of the decade.
The country of 2.5 million people borders Ukraine and has Russian peacekeepers stationed in the pro-Moscow breakaway region of Transnistria.
In recent months, Russian missiles targeting Ukraine have entered Moldovan airspace, while authorities blame the Kremlin for fomenting anti-government protests, which it denies.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu also accused Moscow in February of planning a coup to overthrow the government.
10:21 am
One year ago today – Russia bombed the Mariupol Theater
At around 10 am on 16 March 2022, Russian warplanes dropped two 500 kg bombs on the Mariupol theater despite clear indications that civilians were sheltering there.
People used the building as a refuge from the relentless siege of the southern city, and a large sign reading “children” in Russian was defaced at the front and back of the theater.
About 1,200 people were at the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater when the bombs hit.
Ukrainian authorities believe 300 people were killed, but an AP investigation said the number was closer to 600. Many of the bodies were found in the basement.
The attack has been condemned as a clear war crime.
Since then, occupying Russian forces in the city have begun to demolish and rebuild the theater.
The city’s exiled Ukrainian mayor Petro Andryushchenko said the Russians planned to leave the front of the theater intact and destroy the rest of the building, to build a new theater “on the bones of the people of Mariupol”.
Earlier this year, The Telegraph visited the theater’s site and found fabric-covered scaffolding hiding the remains of what was once the city’s architectural centerpiece until it became a “great mass grave”.
9:35 am
Germany promises to help Ukraine get more ammunition soon
Ukraine must get more ammunition as soon as possible to resist the Russian invasion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, promising swift EU action.
“It is very important that we quickly provide Ukraine with the necessary ammunition,” Scholz told the House of Representatives, promising action at a summit in Brussels next week.
He said member states would “take measures to ensure an even better, continuous supply”.
“And we are ready to open up our procurement projects to other member states as well,” he said.
Ukraine’s Western backers warn that Kiev faces a critical shortage of howitzer shells as it fires thousands every day in its fight against a crushing Russian offensive.
Kiev has told the EU it needs 350,000 shells a month to push back the Russian attack and enable it to launch its own counter-offensives.
EU countries are currently arguing over details such as who is responsible for placing the orders and whether they can only buy from European producers.
9:24 am
Poland dismantles Russian spy ring that had placed hidden cameras on railway lines
Poland’s counterintelligence service has dismantled a Russian spy ring, Poland’s defense minister said on Thursday.
“The whole network has been dismantled,” Mariusz Blaszczak told Polish public radio PR1. “It was an espionage group… collecting information for those who attacked Ukraine.”
“The threat was real,” he added, without giving further details.
Poland’s interior minister will hold a press conference about the alleged espionage operation at 11 a.m. local time.
Poland’s private radio station RMF said on Wednesday that ABW, Poland’s counterintelligence agency, had arrested six foreigners who were working for Russia’s secret service and were preparing to carry out sabotage in Poland.
The suspects were reportedly arrested following the discovery of hidden cameras placed on major railway lines and intersections capturing and transmitting traffic data.
According to RMF, “dozens of devices” of this type have been installed, mainly on sections of railways leading to the southeast of the country, including near an airport that is one of the main transfer points for Western arms and ammunition directed to Ukraine.
Authorities are now on high alert and the security of railways and strategic infrastructure has been strengthened, according to RMF.
8:09 am
Russia loses nearly 1,000 men for every kilometer gained in Bakhmut
Ian Stubbs, a British military adviser, said Russia had lost between 20,000 and 30,000 troops in an attempt to take the eastern city of Bakhmut.
Speaking at the OSCE in Vienna, he said Russian military leaders had sacrificed military units, mostly mercenaries from the Wagner Group, and wasted strategic resources for small tactical gains.
“The past week has seen intense fighting as Russia continues its offensive in the Donbas. Russia is suffering extremely high casualties. Since May last year, between 20 and 30,000 Wagner and regular Russian troops have been killed and wounded in the Bakhmut area alone – an enormous loss of life for a total territorial advance of only 25 km,” Stubbs said.
“That’s over 800 Russian soldiers killed or wounded for every kilometer gained, the vast majority of them Wagner fighters.”
