MOSCOW, April 14 (UPI) — Russia on Thursday said its warplanes acted accordingly during training flights in the Baltic Sea despite U.S. Navy officials accusing them of aggressively buzzing the USS Donald Cook.
“On April 13, crews of Sukhoi Su-24 planes of the Russian air force made planned training flights above the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said, TASS Russian news agency reported. “The route of the Russian aircraft crossed the area where the USS Donald Cook was — about 70 kilometers [43 miles] from the Russian naval base.”
The USS Donald Cook was carrying out landing deck drills with partner nation forces on Monday when two Russian-flagged Su-24 fighter jets “made numerous, close-range and low altitude passes” above the vessel “in a simulated attack profile and failed to respond to repeated safety advisories in both English and Russian,” according to a statement by Navy officials with U.S. European Command.
Navy commanders suspended the training mission until the jets left the area.
The following day, A Russian KA-27 Helix attack helicopter buzzed the Donald Cook, again forcing its crew to suspend ongoing flight operations. As the Helix continued to circle the deck, two more Su-24 fighters flew 11 aggressive, low passes over the ship, according to the Navy.
The U.S. Navy posted a video of one of the encounters on YouTube appearing to show what it describes as a Russian jet coming within closer than 43 miles of the ship.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Su-24 planes acted in accordance to international law.
“Spotting the ship within the visibility zone, the Russian pilots turned their aircraft away from the vessel fully observing the safety measures,” Konashenkov said, adding that “all flights of aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces are performed strictly in accordance with the international regulations on the use of airspace over neutral waters.”
The U.S. Navy expressed “deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian flight maneuvers” that could “unnecessarily escalate tensions” or “could result in a miscalculation or accident that could cause serious injury or death.”
White House press secretary John Earnest on Wednesday said the incidents are “entirely inconsistent” with established military practices when operating within international waters or airspace.
Konashenkov said he was surprised by the U.S. reaction to the incident.
“Frankly speaking, even does not understand the reason for such a painful reaction of our American colleagues,” Konashenkov said. “The principle of freedom of navigation for the U.S. destroyer, which is staying in close proximity to a Russian naval base in the Baltic Sea, does at all not cancel the principle of freedom of flight for Russian aircraft.”
Carlo Munoz contributed to this report.
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