Russian fighter jets created "unsafe situations" by flying too low over the Evertsen frigate in the Black Sea. This is stated on Tuesday, June 29, on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands.
"This happened last Thursday, when the warship was heading south-east of the Crimea," the ministry said. Russian planes allegedly repeatedly flew at a dangerous altitude to the frigates from about 15: 30 to 20: 30 Moscow time.
The Russian fighters were armed with bombs and air-to-surface missiles designed to hit targets from the air. After several hours of low flights of Russian aircraft, there were interruptions with the frigate's electronic equipment, the Dutch Defense Ministry noted.
According to the ministry, Russia's actions violated the right to free use of the sea. They also run counter to the mutual agreements set out in the INCSEA treaty, which prevent unsafe situations at sea.
"The frigate sailed in the open sea in international waters. There was no reason for these aggressive actions, " said the ship's commander, George Pastour. He called the actions of the Russian Navy fighter pilots irresponsible and unsafe at sea.
The head of the Dutch Defense Ministry, Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, also considered Russia's actions "irresponsible". "Evertsen had every right to go in this direction. There is no justification for such aggressive actions, which also unnecessarily increase the risk of accidents. The Netherlands will appeal to Russia about this, " the minister promised.
The Dutch frigate Evertsen is patrolling the Black Sea with the British destroyer HMS Defender.
On June 23, the Black Sea Fleet of the Navy, together with the border service of the FSB of Russia, stopped the violation of the Russian state border by Defender. The ship crossed the state border of the Russian Federation and entered the territorial sea near Cape Fiolent for 3 km.
The Russian Defense Ministry regarded the incident as a gross violation of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and called on the British side to conduct a thorough investigation of the actions of the Defender crew.
The British Defense Ministry said that the destroyer made a peaceful passage through the allegedly territorial waters of Ukraine in accordance with international law.
On June 27, the BBC broadcasting company presented fragments from the documents of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, which relate to the passage of the destroyer Defender near the Crimea. The folder was found at a public transport stop.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, ridiculed the discovery of documents of the British military department at the stop. According to the diplomat, London has demonstrated another provocation and a portion of lies to cover it, but "007 agents are no longer the same", and the provocations themselves are becoming more rude and disastrous.
