US considers sending warships to the Black Sea to bolster Ukraine as tensions with Russia escalate and Moscow moves 10 of its own vessels and continues troop buildup
The U.S. is considering dispatching Navy warships to the Black Sea to show support for Ukraine amid a Russian buildup that the White House warned Thursday it was 'increasingly concerned' about, as U.S. potential new sanctions on Russia loom.
A Pentagon official told CNN about the potential move amid a buildup of Russian troops along its border with Ukraine.
The Navy is also flying reconnaissance planes in international airspace in the area to monitor the buildup and Russian naval moves.
The USS Porter (DDG-78), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer of the United States Navy, is pictured at the Maritime Terminal, Odesa, southern Ukraine, July 8, 2018. The U.S. is considering moving additional warships to the Black Sea
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Thursday it was moving more than 10 navy vessels, including landing boats and artillery warships, from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea to take part in exercises, Interfax news agency reported.
A backdrop to the military maneuvers is the political situation. The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia had to be ready for the worst-case scenario in terms of U.S. sanctions because of what it called President Joe Biden's hostile and unpredictable policy towards Moscow.
That statement came after it was reported the Biden Administration has completed its security review of Russia following a series of efforts to counter to U.S. interests – with potential new sanctions being prepared for close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and other rows.
The Kremlin said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had to be ready for the worst-case scenario in terms of U.S. sanctions after U.S. completed a review of Moscow-related actions. Russia is also making military moves on the Ukrainian border
The Russians cited what they called the 'hostility and unpredictability' of President Joe Biden's administration as they said they were preparing for potential sanctions
The one of three US navy ships sails through the Bosphorus waterways in Istanbul taking relief supplies to Georgia on August 22, 2008
The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter DDG 78 conducts advanced maneuvers with the Romanian navy ship ROS Regina Maria F 222 in the Black Sea in 2015
With the review's completion, Bloomberg News reported, the administration could impose additional sanctions or even expel Russian intelligence officers it has identified.
Western nations and Ukraine have voiced concern over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine. Moscow has said its forces will stay put as long as it sees fit and that they pose no threat.
On Tuesday, it said it was beginning a planned combat readiness inspection of its forces that would involve more than 4,000 drills this month.
'As part of the winter training check, more than 10 amphibious and artillery boats and vessels of the southern military district are conducting an inter-fleet move from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea,' the ministry was quoted as saying on Thursday.
It said they would take part in drills.
Russia's Black Sea fleet is based in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv wants the peninsula back.
Russia has more troops on Ukraine's eastern border than at any time since 2014, when it annexed Crimea and backed separatist territory seizures, and the United States is concerned by growing 'Russian aggressions,' the White House said on Thursday.
The United States is discussing its concerns with its NATO allies, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told a briefing.
The Russian buildup has become the latest point of friction in icy relations between Moscow and U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, adding to disputes over arms control, human rights and other issues.
Biden last week expressed 'unwavering support' for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his confrontation with Russia, which in 2014 annexed the Crimea peninsula and backed separatists who seized large parts of the eastern Donbas region.
Russia has said its troops are no threat and are defensive, but they would remain as long as the Kremlin sees fit.
Psaki said that the United States 'is increasingly concerned by recent escalating Russian aggressions in eastern Ukraine, including Russian troop movements on Ukraine's border.'
'Russia now has more troops than at any time since 2014,' Psaki added, saying that five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the past week.
Psaki did not elaborate on the number of Russian troops deployed on Ukraine's border. But it was the first time that the Biden administration has given a description of the scale of the buildup.
In March 2014, as the conflict in eastern Ukraine escalated, Western estimates put the number of Russian troops, militia or special forces on Ukraine's border at 25,000 to more than 30,000.
Psaki's comments followed by hours a telephone call in which Chancellor Angela Merkel of NATO member Germany demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin pull his troops back to de-escalate the situation.
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