Russia shrugs off criticism after buzzing U.S. ship
The Russian Defense Ministry dismissed U.S. concerns Thursday about Russian war planes buzzing a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea this week, saying their pilots "fully observed all safety measures."
Russian Defense Ministry Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agency Tass that the Russian SU-24 jets were conducting planned exercises Monday when they came upon the USS Donald Cook in neutral waters less than 50 miles from a Russian Navy base.
"Spotting the ship within the visibility zone, the Russian pilots turned their aircraft away from the vessel, fully observing the safety measures," Konashenkov told Tass.
The U.S. European Command, however, said two Russian SU-24 jets made "numerous, close-range and low-altitude passes" on the Cook as a helicopter refueled on the deck. The ship temporarily suspended flight operation exercises it was conducting with Polish forces, it said in a statement.
On Tuesday, a Russian KA-27 Helix helicopter flew seven circles at low altitude that were "deemed unsafe and unprofessional by the ship’s commanding officer," the statement said. About 40 minutes later, two Russian SU-24 jets made 11 close-range and low-altitude passes.
The statement said the jets "flew in a simulated attack profile and failed to respond to repeated safety advisories in both English and Russian." The flights were risky, could have resulted in a fatal accident and could unnecessarily add to political tensions, the statement said.
One pass was about 30 feet from the ship at an altitude of 100 feet, a U.S. defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the incident, told Paste BN. Two more passes farther from the ship came at 50 feet above water.
U.S. sailors who viewed the incidents said the jets were flying “wings clean,” meaning there were no visible bombs or armaments, a defense official told defensenews.com, a U.S. publication that reports on military matters.
The Russian news website RT questioned how threatening the flights actually seemed to U.S. sailors aboard the Donald Cook.
"Judging by the videos released by the U.S. Navy, the sailors were nonplussed by the Russian aerobatic skills. They gathered on the top deck of the destroyer to watch the Russian pilots," RT said.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the United States protested the moves with the Russian government through the military attache at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, but that “there’s little value in further escalating the situation.”
Konashenkov dismissed the U.S. concerns, saying the rights of a U.S. ship sailing so close to a Russian base do not trump the rights of Russian jets to perform their own exercises.
"Frankly speaking, (the defense ministry) does not understand the reason for such a painful reaction of our American colleagues," he said.
Contributing: Jim Michaels, Greg Korte