In response to a Russian flotilla that showed up off the coast of Florida, the United States deployed its Navy and some warplanes yesterday. The Russian ships allegedly got within 30 miles of the Florida coast.
The Navy was said to be only “keeping tabs” on what Russia was doing with its ships that had conducted missile exercises. “In accordance with standard procedure, we’ve been actively monitoring the Russian ships as they transit the Atlantic Ocean within international waters,” a defense official, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, told Military.com in an emailed statement Wednesday.
The official added that “air and maritime assets under U.S. Northern Command have conducted operations to ensure the defense of the United States and Canada,” but wouldn’t elaborate on what those assets were. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh also could not offer any specifics at a briefing to reporters Wednesday.
Russian state-run media announced last week that the group of four ships, including a frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine, would be making a port call in Havana between June 12 and June 17. On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in an online post that the ships conducted exercises in the use of “high-precision missile weapons in the Atlantic Ocean” and included video shots aboard the vessels.
“As part of the exercise, the crews of a frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine practiced the use of high-precision missile weapons using computer-simulated naval targets that represent naval groups of a mock enemy and are located at a distance of over 600 kilometers,” the statement said while noting no missiles were launched.
As this was going on, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has said that Moscow will respond “decisively” to sanctions and any other “confrontational” moves by the U.S.
“The U.S. administration congratulated the Russian people with the announcement of yet another sanctions package,” Antonov said. Russia will not insist on being a U.S. partner, but remains “open for honest and equal dialogue once the Americans come to their senses,” the diplomat stressed. “Nevertheless, we will give an adequate and decisive response to the confrontation forced upon us [by Washington],” Antonov warned.
The new round of curbs by the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury targeted 300 additional individuals and entities in Russia and other countries, including China, Türkiye, and the UAE (United Arab Emirates), accused by the U.S. of having links to Moscow’s “war economy” and allowing it to evade Western embargos. -RT
Aaron Forsberg, who is the State Department’s director for economic sanctions policy and implementation, told the AP on Wednesday that sanctions are a “dynamic affair” because Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a very capable adversary who is willing to adapt and find those willing collaborators.”
Tensions between the West and Russia are sky-high, and this deployment of the U.S. Navy along with new sanctions will not be helping cool things down.
