The Bosporus Observer YouTube channel has published footage which appears to show the USS Ross transiting through the Turkish Straits in the direction of the Black Sea. The warship’s DDG-71 hull identification is clearly visible in the video.
Commenting on the warship’s deployment, Yuri Shvytkin, a member of the Russian Duma’s defence committee, suggested that it signals the “manifestation of an unhealthy US interest toward our country’s borders.”
According to the lawmaker, the entry of US ships to the Black Sea serves only as a “destabilising factor in the region, and does not provide for security, as the US claims”.
Meanwhile, the US Navy has issued a statement explaining that the warship entered the Black Sea to conduct maritime security operations and “enhance regional maritime stability” with NATO allies and friendly nations.
“With this visit, we are consistently strengthening our relationships with our Black Sea partners,” USS Ross commanding officer Cmdr. John D. John said. “Steady operations in the Black Sea are crucial to building a secure maritime environment and ensuring freedom of navigation,” he added.
According to the US Navy, the Ross’s operations will help demonstrate the continued “collective resolve” of NATO to Black Sea Security under Operation Atlantic Resolve, the bloc’s mission in Ukraine, ostensibly designed to counter Russia.
Russia’s Navy confirmed Sunday that the Black Sea Fleet had deployed its capabilities to monitor the movement of the USS Ross, which was reported to have entered the Black Sea at 6:30 pm local time.
The warship’s deployment was the first of its kind in 2020. Last year, NATO warships entered the Black Sea on thirteen occasions. In accordance with the Montreux Convention of 1936, military vessels from non-Black Sea-bordering state have the right to stay in the body of water for no more than 21 days, and face tonnage restrictions.
The USS Ross is ordinarily forward deployed at Naval Station Rota in Spain, about 3,000 km from the Black Sea’s westernmost point.
