US Sends Another Warship Into Black Sea Amid Russia Tensions

The USS Arleigh Burke entered the Black Sea Thursday after two other US warships left the waters

The guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke entered the Black Sea Thursday to operate alongside NATO allies, the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet said.

The US and NATO have stepped up their activity in the Black Sea to stoke tensions with Russia, and there is now a regular presence of US warships in the waters. The Arleigh Burke entered the Black Sea after two other US Navy destroyers, the USS Porter and the USS Mount Whitney, completed operations in the area.

The Russian military said it has begun monitoring the Arleigh Burke. “The Black Sea Fleet’s forces have begun to monitor the guided-missile destroyer The USS Arleigh Burke, which entered the Black Sea on November 25, 2021,” Russia’s National Defense Command Center said in a news release.

The warships transit comes amid US claims that Russia is planning an invasion of Ukraine based on an alleged Russian troop build-up in the region. For their part, Russia denies that military movements inside its own borders are not meant as a threat and points to the increase in US and NATO activity as the source of tensions.

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said US bombers rehearsed a nuclear strike on Russia this month, and some of the planes came within 12.4 miles of Russia’s border. Moscow is also concerned over the Western push to arm Kyiv, and the US is reportedly considering sending military advisors and more weapons to Ukraine.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.