'Irritated' US admiral sends destroyer to Black Sea after Russia fires on Ukrainian vessels
MUNICH An American destroyer is sailing to the Black Sea to conduct naval exercises with Ukraine to demonstrate solidarity in response to a clash with Russia that has a top U.S. admiral furious.
The whole episode in the Sea of Azov was extremely bothersome to me, Admiral James Foggo, commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa, told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.
Russian forces fired on three Ukrainian naval vessels that attempted to pass through the Kerch Strait, the narrow waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, and arrested the sailors in late November. The maritime incident was the first public act of violence by Russian forces against Ukraine since 2014, when unmarked Russian fighters helped annex Crimea and invade eastern Ukraine. Since the takeover, Moscow has used control of the land on both sides of the waterway to restrict access to key Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.
Were showing solidarity, Foggo said of the USS Donald Cooks deployment to the region from its home port at Naval Station Rota, Spain.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/irritated-us-admiral-sends-destroyer-to-black-sea-after-russia-fires-on-ukrainian-vessels/ar-BBTNkfk?li=BBnbfcL
Just a destroyer? Why not a few more supporting vessels if you're going to attempt WWIII?