Defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke tells Sky News the Russian fighter jet's contact with the propeller of a US drone was likely an accident.
Here Sky News looks at what we know so far.The US regularly uses spy drones to gather intelligence around Ukraine, including the MQ-9 Reaper.
This went on for 30 or 40 minutes on Tuesday morning before one of the Su-27s clipped the rear propeller of the Reaper somewhere between Crimea and Odesa.The US Department of Defense has said the fighter jet's contact with the drone forced it to crash land. Its European command also insists that while Reapers can carry weapons for attack missions, the one involved on Tuesday was only for intelligence.The Kremlin says the American drone was flying too close to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 and claims as its own territory.Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said:"The unacceptable actions of the United States military in the close proximity to our borders are cause for concern.
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