Russia's aggressive maneuvers around US and NATO forces in the Black Sea in recent weeks appear meant to provoke a response, the top US Navy admiral in Europe said on July 21, Business Insider reports.
NATO militaries conducted exercises in the Black Sea from mid-June to mid-July, the largest of which, Sea Breeze, involved 32 ships and 40 aircraft from 32 countries.
In the days before Sea Breeze began on June 28, Russian aircraft conducted what Western officials called unsafe flights around NATO warships in the Black Sea. Russian and NATO forces continued to operate near each other in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea over the following weeks.
The latest encounters came amid heightened military activity in the region, but such interactions are not uncommon in the Black Sea, which has remained tense since Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea.
"NATO allies and partners operating in that area by themselves are constantly shadowed by Russian vessels, and by and large, those interactions are safe and professional, although they're meant to intimidate," Adm. Robert Burke, commander of US Navy Forces in Europe and Africa, said at the US Navy Memorial event.
"When a strike aircraft overflies a destroyer at 100 feet altitude and right over top, our [commanding officers] are making a judgment call whether that strike fighter is on an attack profile or not," Burke added. "It could be argued that they're baiting us into shooting first. We're not going to do that first without provocation, but I'm also not going to ask my commanding officers to take the first shot on the chin."
Russian and NATO forces frequently operate in close proximity. Russia regularly reports intercepts of NATO aircraft flying near Russian borders. NATO militaries often intercept Russian aircraft flying near their borders.
US officials have on multiple occasions criticized Russia for what they call "unsafe and unprofessional" intercepts of US aircraft and warships in the seas around Europe. Those include low-altitude flights over the US warships, which are especially risky because of uncertainty about intent and the potential for accidents.
"That's a big concern with this increasing aggressiveness. So we'll have to watch that very closely," Burke added.