US Destroyer Enters Black Sea Amid Ukraine Tension

A US Navy destroyer has entered the Black Sea amid mounting tensions between Washington and Moscow as Russia says the US and its allies are assembling a battle fleet in the region.

Orwellian UK BANNED Press TV: The USS Donald Cook, which is a multi-mission ballistic missile-capable destroyer, crossed Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait on Thursday and entered the Black Sea, with sources within the Russian military saying the move is part of a systematic build-up of naval forces by NATO allies in the region.
“What we are seeing is that for the first time since 2008, NATO is creating a naval battle group outside the Russian borders,” one source told Interfax news agency.
The Donald Cook will join the USS Truxtun which entered the Black Sea last month for joint military exercise with Romanian and Bulgarian navies. The Truxtun’s stay in waters bordering Russia has been extended for more joint drills there.
This comes as US Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, who is NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, has told the Associated Press that US troops may soon be deployed to alliance member states in Eastern Europe.

“Essentially what we are looking at is a package of land, air and maritime measures that would build assurance for our easternmost allies,” Breedlove told the AP on Wednesday. “I'm tasked to deliver this by next week. I fully intend to deliver it early.”
Asked if US troops could be sent to the member states which are closest to Russia, the four-star US general said, “I would not write off contributions from any nation.”

Breedlove also said that the US and its allies are concerned with “about 40,000” Russian forces he said are deployed along Russia’s border with eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, US Air Force officials have announced plans for sending 18 Europe-based US fighter jets to Poland for joint training exercises at Lask Air Base.

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