Russian jets buzz U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea

[basquebromance]

WWIII would be fun

Russian jets buzz US Navy destroyer in Baltic Sea: reports

 

[SassyIrishLass]

It's been happening for decades...we do the same thing to them

 

[basquebromance]

no WWIII then? shame.

 

[Moonglow]

no WWIII then? shame.

I bet you will be the first to volunteer to die....

 

[basquebromance]

no way. i'm just bored. if i wasn't bored i'd be against WWIII.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Shoot dey's butts outta the sky - dat'll make `em sit up an take notice...

Pentagon Reports Another Russian Jet Incident in Baltic Sea
April 16, 2016 - A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane flying over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 jet in what the U.S. military said Saturday was "an unsafe and unprofessional manner."

The statement from the U.S. European Command said the incident occurred Thursday in international airspace and at no time did the American plane cross into Russian territory. A U.S. military spokesman told CNN that the jet "performed erratic and aggressive maneuvers" as it flew as close as 15 meters to the plane. Days ago, Russian fighter jets flew very close to the USS Donald Cook in international waters in the Baltic Sea. The crew aboard the warship was dumbfounded to see the apparently unarmed SU-24 planes fly as close as 9 meters from the destroyer — close enough to create a wake in the water.

Russian air force Su-27 jet fighters perform at an air show outside Moscow​

Russia's Defense Ministry denied the action was provocative, saying the planes were conducting test flights and only observed the Donald Cook before turning away, "in observance of all safety measures." A Pentagon official described the Russian flights as simulated attack passes. He said sailors on the Donald Cook attempted to reach the Russian planes by radio but got no response.

Some military analysts said they thought the Russian maneuver might have come out of the Kremlin's resentment of U.S. forces operating so close to Russian territory. NATO has bolstered its military presence in Eastern Europe as a response to the Russian annexation of Crimea in Ukraine in 2014.

Pentagon Reports Another Russian Jet Incident in Baltic Sea

 

[waltky]

Russians claim our presence in Baltic Sea provoked fly-overs...

Russia: U.S. warship in Baltic waters a military provocation
April 21, 2016 -- A Russian diplomat was critical of the presence of a U.S. warship in the Baltic Sea, which he said provoked flyovers by Russian military aircraft last week.

After a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday between NATO and Russian representatives -- the first in nearly two years -- Alexander Grushko, Russian ambassador to NATO, referred to the presence of the destroyer USS Donald Cook in waters near Kaliningrad as a provocation. Kaliningrad is a non-contiguous enclave of Russia between Poland and Lithuania and the site of several Russian military bases. Russian fighter planes flew close to the ship on several occasions on April 12 and 13, prompting an increase in tensions between Russia and the United States. On April 14, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was chased by a Russian fighter plane over the Baltic Sea; the Russian plane executed a barrel-roll over the U.S. plane. The U.S. Navy posted a video of the incident with the ship on YouTube.

Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft make a very-low altitude pass by the USS Donald Cook on April 12 during maneuvers in international waters in the Baltic Sea. Russia defended its actions, stating its warplanes acted in accordance to international law. The USS Donald Cook, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, forward deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting a routine patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.​

NATO and U.S. officials called the Russian maneuvers dangerous and unprofessional. A similar situation evolved in 2014 when the the USS Donald Cook was also involved in an incident in which two Russian Su-24 planes made 12 passes near the destroyer, a situation the United States called "provocative and unprofessional." "First and foremost, I'd like to stress the full compliance with international law of the actions of Russian fighter jets. Still, the key issue is what the Donald Cook was doing so close to Kaliningrad. Could anyone possibly suppose that a destroyer fitted out with 2,500-kilometer [1,553-mile] range cruise missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads, might be cruising in the waters off New York? This wasn't military activity proper but rather an attempt to exert pressure on Russia," Grushko said.

A Russian Kamov KA-27 Helix closely surveils the USS Donald Cook on April 12 during maneuvers in international waters in the Baltic Sea. Donald Cook, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, forward deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting a routine patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe​

The meeting lasted more three hours -- longer than scheduled -- and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg referred to it as "frank and serious." "NATO allies and Russia hold very different views. But we have listened to what each other had to say," he said. Although Grushko accused NATO of militarizing the Baltic region, an area of small NATO countries are concerned about Russia's 2014 incursion into Ukraine. Stoltenberg said after the meeting, "Everything NATO does in the Baltic region is proportional, it is defensive and it is fully in line with our international agreements. We are responding to the substantial military buildup by Russia."

Russia: U.S. warship in Baltic waters a military provocation

See also:

NATO Chief: Differences with Russia 'Profound and Persistent'
April 20, 2016 : The NATO-Russia Council met Wednesday for the first time since 2014, but the two sides failed to overcome their disagreements over key issues. Ambassadors from the 28 NATO countries attended the meeting in Brussels, along with a Russian delegation.

The talks were "frank, serious and actually good," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after the meeting. Still, he said NATO and Russia "have profound and persistent disagreements"' and that Wednesday's meeting "did not change that." Stoltenberg said the NATO members made clear during the meeting that "they stand firm in their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity" and “do not recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea."

A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft makes a low altitude pass by the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea​

He said they also stressed that the "increase in cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine in recent days" and a recent incident targeting Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitors there were "deeply disturbing." However, the NATO chief added that all 29 council members agreed "on the need for a full and rapid implementation of the Minsk agreements" signed in 2014 to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Earlier Wednesday, before the council met, Stoltenberg said the meeting would be especially important because of last week's incidents in which the United States accused Russian warplanes of flying extremely close to a U.S. Navy warship in the Baltic Sea.

Russia's ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko, who attended Wednesday's NATO-Russia Council meeting, said the Russian planes had buzzed the USS Donald Cook because it sailed near Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on northern Europe's Baltic Sea coast. The ship's presence there, he said, was an "attempt to exert pressure on Russia," adding that Russia would "take all necessary precautionary measures in response to this attempted use of military force." Relations between Russia and NATO members froze after Russia annexed part of eastern Ukraine and an armed conflict began between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia separatists.

NATO Chief: Differences with Russia 'Profound and Persistent'