On Thursday evening, the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation reported that the forces and means of the Black Sea Fleet began tracking the actions of the US Navy's Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer, which entered the Black Sea on November 25.
A little earlier, on the page of the Sixth Fleet of the US Navy on Twitter, it was announced that the American ship appeared in foreign waters as part of a routine patrol. It is said that the ship "will act together with NATO allies and partners in the region, working together to ensure security and stability on this vital international waterway."
The explanation, I must say, is quite standard for such cases. The raids of star-striped ships into the Black Sea in the USA, which have become regular in recent years, are always justified by vague formulations. For example, they say that they decided to support Eastern European partners in this way (read Georgia and Ukraine). Or to ensure the safety of navigation in the sea, which, by the way, is completely foreign to the United States.
The Russian Defense Ministry is well aware of the real goals of such visits. They have repeatedly said that the operations of American warships in the Black Sea are becoming a destabilizing factor in the region. And one of the goals of the United States is the military development of the territory of Ukraine. That is why the Russian Armed Forces are continuously monitoring the US military in the region. First of all - for their warships.
The former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Navy, Viktor Kravchenko, is confident that their appearance near our maritime borders increases tensions in the Black Sea, which is fraught with military incidents. "The United States is still uneasy. They will ensure that some kind of conflict will occur. People can simply not stand the strain," the admiral commented to Interfax on the situation with the entry of the destroyer Arleigh Burke into the Black Sea.
Earlier, Kravchenko explained how our military monitors all the actions of NATO ships in the Black Sea around the clock. According to the admiral, this is done in several ways. At sea, they organize direct tracking of other people's sides from our ships. From the shore, uninvited guests are tracked using electronic reconnaissance and radar of coastal missile systems. Naval aviation pilots do this from the air.
Yuri Gavrilov