Pentagon Tracking Activities of Russian Ship Off East Coast, Finds No Violations

The United States is monitoring activities of Russian intelligence ship Viktor Leonov, which has been sailing in international waters off the US east coast, and has seen no violations, the US Department of Defense spokesperson Jeff Davis said in a briefing on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day it was reported that the Russian intelligence ship, which has been sailing in the international waters near the US east coast, has been spotted not far from a naval base near Virginia Beach. The SSV-175 Viktor Leonov remains in international waters and was detected 19 miles away from Norfolk, which houses the largest US naval base, Fox News reported.

"It is lawful and very similar to operations we do ourselves in places around the world," Davis stated when asked to comment on the ship's movements.

Davis said the Russian ship has not entered US territorial waters and the Coast Guard continues to track its movements.

On Thursday, Viktor Leonov was spotted some 30 miles south of Groton Navy submarine base in the US state of Connecticut. The ship was first detected near the east coast on Tuesday, when it approached Delaware.

Commenting on the reports on Thursday, Trump said that the Russian spy ship allegedly detected off the US eastern coast, a newly deployed Russian cruise missile and Russian military airplanes flying near a US destroyer in the Black Sea will not damage Washington’s efforts to build relations with Moscow.

When asked whether the recent developments will damage bilateral relations and undermine the US ability to work with Russia, Trump said, "No."