The Biden government is considering sending warships to the Black Sea in the coming weeks to counter the increased Russian military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border, a Thursday report said.
A Defense Ministry official told CNN that the Navy is flying reconnaissance aircraft in international skies over the Black Sea to monitor Russian naval movements.
They said moving warships into the region would send a message of force to Russia and notify the Kremlin that the US is monitoring the situation.
And “if anything changes, we are ready to respond,” said the official.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced it would move more than 10 ships, including landing craft and artillery warships, from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea to participate in military exercises, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian military officials also said Russia has deployed tanks and armored vehicles near the border with eastern Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow can move its troops as it sees fit.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby noted during a briefing Wednesday that the US Navy routinely has ships in the Black Sea and that the US has supplied Ukraine with non-lethal and lethal weapons for defense.
He also called on Moscow to “lower the temperature, to de-escalate”.
Under a 1936 treaty that gives Turkey control of the straits to enter the Black Sea, the US must give 14 days notice of its intention to move ships.
Russia’s military build-up has alarmed European leaders and prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to call Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw and de-escalate troops.
The Biden government, along with the international community, has expressed concern about mounting tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
In recent weeks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Miller and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have all spoken to their Ukrainian counterparts.
The Russian navy conducted artillery exercises in the Black Sea and successfully hit targets on the coast of Crimea, Russian news agency Tass reported Thursday.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, resulting in sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama and the European Union.
With pole wires