Never-before-published images/ USA releases VIDEO from the incident in the Black Sea, this is the moment when the Russian plane collides with the American drone

The US military has released declassified footage showing the moment a Russian jet collided with a US drone, which the US military said it was later forced to shoot down in the Black Sea.

The US has published a small fragment of the incident that seems to have escalated relations between Russia and America.

Footage captured by the MQ-9 Reaper drone shows the moment when the Russian Sukhoi SU-27 fighter jet begins to approach. As it approaches, the plane dumps some fuel and continues to monitor the American drone.

In another piece of footage, the Russian plane makes another pass. As it approaches, it refuels. The video from the drone then cuts out as the Russian fighter jet collides with the MQ-9 Reaper, damaging the propeller and ultimately forcing the US to crash the drone into the Black Sea.

So far, Russia has denied any involvement in the incident. When the camera comes back online in the footage, the view pans back again and the propeller is shown damaged by the crash.

With the propeller damaged, the drone's operators effectively steered the aircraft over the Black Sea, where it was released harmlessly into international waters southwest of Crimea.

Moscow has also published a video of several seconds in which it claims that it did not touch the American drone.