The Russian government summoned the US military attaché in Moscow on Saturday after the detection and expulsion of a US submarine in Russian territorial waters of the Far East, an incident that occurs at a time of extreme tension due to the militarization of Ukraine and the expansion to the east of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Russian Defense Ministry delivered a note to the Office of the Military Attaché for Defense at the U.S. Embassy regarding the incident, which Russia labeled as a serious violation of international law and a threat to its national security.
The text urges the White House military to take steps to prevent such situations in the future. Washington has not yet commented on the fact.The text also states that “the Ministry of Defense (…) reserves the right to take all possible measures in its territorial sea to ensure the security of the Russian Federation.” The violation was detected at 10:40 Moscow time, when the Pacific Fleet frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov discovered the US Virginia-class submersible near Urup Island in the Kuril Islands archipelago.
From the Russian surface unit and through the Russian and English they gave the order to the submarine to surface immediately. According to media reports, its commander ignored the demand and ended up “leaving the territorial waters of the Russian Federation at maximum speed.” According to Russian authorities, when the flight began, the US submarine used a self-propelled simulator to duplicate its signal on radars and acoustic controls.Moscow added that the crew of its frigate acted in accordance with the guidelines for the protection of the state border and used the appropriate means to deter the US naval unit, although it did not specify what those means were.
The Defense Ministry confirmed that “Pacific Fleet ships are continuing planned exercises” in the Kuril Islands area. Russian civil and military officials have reiterated that they have no intention of invading Ukraine, as the US and allied countries have reported. In addition, they have warned that the West could fabricate incidents to initiate a military escalation against Moscow.
But a statement from the U.S. military said “there is no truth in the Russian version of our operations in its territorial waters.” Capt. Kyle Raines, a spokesman for the U.S. Asia-Pacific Command, said he would not comment on the exact location of the U.S. submarines. However, he added that “we do fly, sail and operate safely in international waters.” The incident came just hours before a phone conversation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden to try to defuse tensions around Ukraine, a former Eastern European Soviet republic threatened, according to the United States, by an imminent Russian invasion
