Russian Su-24s 'Scrambled' To Push Back USS Ross In Black Sea; US Navy Refutes Russian Media
Russian fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a U.S. warship acting “aggressively” in the Black Sea. The Pentagon denied there was any unusual incident.
Russian state news agency RIA reports that the country’s armed forces in Crimea said the USS Ross, a guided missile destroyer, was spotted along the edge of Russia’s territorial waters. “The crew of the ship acted provocatively and aggressively, which concerned the operators of monitoring stations and ships of the Black Sea Fleet,” said RIA’s anonymous source.
The Russian military aircraft Su-24 had reportedly demonstrated to the crew of the USS Ross that it was ready to prevent a breach and defend the interests of the country. However, Pentagon spokesperson Eileen Lainez said the U.S. vessel was within the international waters at all times as it performed routine operations.
“The U.S. navy operates routinely in the Black Sea, accordance with ineternational law,” said Lainez. She also noted that the deployment of USS Ross to the Black Sea was publicly announced.
The Russian state-sponsored Sputnik News claimed the USS Ross was forced to turn around due to the aggressive position of the Russian jets. To clarify the matter, the U.S. Navy has taken an unusual step on Monday when it released a video of the Russian aircraft flying past the right side of the U.S. guided missile destroyer.
Contrary to Russian state media reports, the video showed that the Russian planes and the U.S. vessel had a routine encounter. The USS Ross was 25 miles off the coast of Crimea in international waters when six Russian military aircraft went by, reports CNN.
A U.S. defence official said the Russian aircraft was not armed and the entire incident was considered normal. The U.S. Navy explained that it would have released the video if it did not want to refute the reports of Russian state media.
U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter has previously warned about the danger of an offensive by pro-Russian separatists. He told BBC that it was a serious possibility and “danger.”
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