The Biden administration is considering sending warships to the Black Sea in the coming weeks to counter the rising Russian military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border, according to a report on Thursday.
A Department of Defense official told CNN that the Navy is flying reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the Black Sea to monitor Russian naval movements.
They said the transfer of warships to the region would send a message of force to Russia and warn the Kremlin that the US is in control of the situation.
And “if something changes we will be ready to respond,” the official said.
Russia’s defense ministry has announced it will move more than a dozen ships, including landing craft and artillery warships, from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea to take part in military exercises, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian military officials also said that Russia has deployed tanks and armored vehicles near the eastern border of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow could move its troops at its “discretion.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby reported Wednesday in a briefing that the U.S. Navy routinely has ships in the Black Sea and that the U.S. has provided Ukraine with non-lethal, lethal weapons for its defense.
He also called on Moscow to “lower the temperature, to de-escalate.”
According to a 1936 treaty that gave Turkey control of the straits to enter the Black Sea, the U.S. must give 14 days notice of its intention to move ships.
The Russian military buildup has alarmed European leaders and prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops and step down.
The Biden administration has joined the international community in raising concerns about growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
In recent weeks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Miller, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have spoken with their Ukrainian counterparts.
The Russian navy conducted artillery exercises in the Black Sea and successfully attacked targets on the Crimean coast, Russian news agency Tass reported on Thursday.
Russia annexed Crimea to Ukraine in 2014, with the result of sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama and the European Union.
With publishing cables