We all know that the relationship between the Untied States and Russia is not great as of late. But earlier this week, it seems things escalated with Russian aircraft flying within 30 feet of a US Navy ship in international waters.
- On April 11th, the USS Donald Cook was practicing helicopter landing drills in the Baltic Sea, when two Russian SU-24 jets made close passes to the ship.
- On April 12th, things escalated, and a Russian helicopter circled the ship at low altitude.
- Following that event,two SU-24 jets made multiple passes close to the ship in attack formations.
- On Saturday, a US RC-135 reconnaissance plane was flying through international airspace, and a Russian SU-27 plane apparently did a Barrel roll over the US plane.
- These are just the latest in a series of aggressive maneuvers of Russian planes and US military vehicles, earlier incidents in June and October.
According to Admiral Mark Ferguson, the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, “April 11-12, USS Donald Cook was operating in a professional manner in international waters conducting operations and exercises with our allies in the Baltic Sea.” He also said, “In my judgement these maneuvers in close proximity to Donald Cook are unprofessional and unsafe.”
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- Russia has responded claiming their planes observed all safety measures
- Russia claimed the UN Navy ship was sailing towards a Russian Naval base.
Photo Credit: U.S. Navy photo/Released
