Two Russian warplanes flew simulated attack passes on a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, the U.S. military has said. One official describing them as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory.
The events are reminiscent of the Cold War, when a series of close calls led to a bilateral agreement aimed at avoiding such dangerous interactions at sea.
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.”
The incident came as NATO plans its biggest build-up in eastern Europe since the Cold War to counter what the alliance, and in particular the three Baltic states and Poland, consider to be a more aggressive Russia.