The US said two warplanes flew "recklessly" near the MQ-9 Reaper drone and dumped fuel on it before one of them struck a propeller.
That forced the US to bring down the £26million unmanned aircraft in international waters.
It comes as Kremlin rocket strikes killed Ukrainian civilians - while Ukraine claimed 700 Russian troops had died in the previous 24 hours.
Moscow denied its jets made contact with the drone but American military commanders called it the latest of a series of dangerous piloting acts that "could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation".
Brazen
This story is from the March 15, 2023 edition of Daily Express.
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This story is from the March 15, 2023 edition of Daily Express.
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