Russia warns US military attache over submarine incident
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As a Virginia-class US submarine was detected in Russian territorial seas, Russia considered the submarine's actions to be a flagrant violation of international law.
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Russian Defense: We used "appropriate means" to expel the offending submarine
The Russian defense ministry announced that it sent a note to the US military attache in response to a US submarine's violation of Russian territorial seas earlier in the day.
On Saturday evening, a Virginia-class US submarine was detected in Russian territorial seas near the Kuril Islands. It refused to come up to the surface and left Russian waters after a Russian patrol ship deployed the "necessary procedures" authorized for such instances, according to the ministry.
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Virginia-class US submarine
"On February 12, a representative of the US embassy's military attache office for defense issues was handed over a note at the Russian defense ministry's main directorate of international military cooperation in Moscow in relation to the violation of Russia's state border by a US navy submarine," the ministry added.
The US official has been informed that Russia views the submarine's actions to be a flagrant violation of international law.
"The provocative actions of the US warship posed threat to Russia's national security. The Russian defense ministry insists that the United States must take measures to prevent similar situations in the future," the ministry stressed.
"The Russian defense ministry reserves the right to undertake any measures possible to ensure Russia's security in its territorial waters," the statement concluded.
Commenting on the US military dispatch in Poland, which borders Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has earlier said that White House hysteria was more indicative than ever.
On Friday, WH national security advisor Jake Sullivan said "We continue to see signs of Russian escalation including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border," and that "An invasion could begin at any time should Vladimir Putin decide to order it... It could begin during the Olympics despite a lot of speculation that it will only happen after the Olympics."
Russia has been repeatedly denied such allegations, with the assurances and the repetition getting quite tedious - as even Ukraine denied the 'Russian military build-up on the eastern Ukrainian border.'
