Moscow said on Saturday that a Russian destroyer had chased a US nuclear submarine off the Kuril Islands in Russian territorial waters, a charge denied by the US military.
• Read also: Canada relocates Ukrainian embassy from Kiev to Lviv
• Read also: Intense diplomatic activity fails to calm tensions over Ukraine
• Read also: Brazil: Bolsonaro confirmed his visit to Russia on Tuesday
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Pacific Fleet’s ship “Marshal Shaposhnikov” transmitted an underwater message ordering the Virginia-class submarine to “float immediately.”
Faced with his refusal, unidentified “means” were used, forcing the US submarine to “leave the Russian territorial waters as quickly as possible,” according to a ministry press release specifying that the accident occurred on Saturday. At 7:40 am. GMT.
The US military denied “the Russian allegations about our operations in their territorial waters are not true.”
«Nous volons, naviguons et opérons en toute sécurité dans les eaux internationales», a précisé le capitaine Kyle Raines, porte-parole du Commandment américain pour la région Indo-Pacifique, refusant deer l’emplacement ric lauren-ciss Area.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the American submarine was spotted during routine exercises of the Russian Pacific Fleet near the island of Europe in Russian territorial waters.
In contact with AFP, the Pentagon initially declared “it is aware of press articles relating to this supposed naval incident in the Pacific Ocean,” but specified that it was unable to confirm the details.
The incident took place a few hours before a phone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, in the midst of Russian-American tensions over Ukraine.
The Kremlin denounced the US “hysteria” over Ukraine after this call between the two presidents.
