The Russian military has begun tracking the US Navy missile destroyer Arleigh Burke in the Black Sea. This was reported to journalists on Thursday, November 25, by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The destroyer Arleigh Burke entered the Black Sea earlier that day. The US Sixth Fleet reported that NATO allies and partners are operating in the region to ensure a safe, stable and reliable marine environment, as well as to strengthen partnership potential.
USS Arleigh Burke is the first Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The ship is named after Admiral Arlie Albert Burke, who fought in the Pacific during World War II. The vessel has mine-torpedo, anti-submarine and missile weapons.
On November 17, the missile destroyer USS Porter left the Black Sea, which it entered on October 30 in order to participate in exercises with allies and NATO partners in the region.
Since arriving in the Black Sea, the ship has conducted maneuvering exercises with the Blue Ridge-class control ship USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the US Sixth Fleet of the USNS John Lenthall class, as well as ships of the Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish and Ukrainian fleets.
In October, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer called on the North Atlantic Alliance to demonstrate to Russia its readiness to use weapons if necessary. According to her, Russia allegedly constantly violates the airspace of the Baltic states in the Black Sea.
In turn, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that NATO should stop provocative activities at the Russian borders in order to find a way out of the current tense situation in relations between Russia and the West.
According to the Montreux Convention, ships of countries that do not go to the Black Sea cannot stay in the Black Sea for longer than 21 days.