‘Russian jets in mock sorties over US ships’

Russia has denied the charges. One US official described them as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory. The repeated flights by the Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes, which also flew near the ship a day earlier, were so close they created wake in the water, with 11 passes, the official said. The planes carried no visible weaponry, he added. 

A Russian KA-27 Helix helicopter also made seven passes around the USS Donald Cook, taking pictures. The nearest Russian territory was about 70 nautical miles away in its enclave between Lithuania and Poland. 

“They tried to raise them (the Russian aircraft) on the radio but they did not answer,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding the US ship was in international waters. The US military on Thursday released photos and videos of the incidents. In one photograph, an SU-24 appears to pass at extremely low altitude over the Donald Cook’s bow. 

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “This incident is entirely inconsistent with the professional norms of militaries operating in proximity to each other in international water and international airspace.” 

However, Russia’s defence ministry has rejected complaints by US officials. Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian defense ministry, said on Thursday that the pilots of Russian Su24 jets saw the ship and turned back “while using all measures of precaution.” He said he was baffled by what he described as the “distressed reaction of our American counterparts.” 

The events were reminiscent of the Cold War, when a series of close calls led to a bilateral agreement aimed at avoiding dangerous interactions at sea that was signed in 1972 by then-Secretary of the Navy John Warner and Soviet Admiral Sergei Gorshkov.