Russian Planes Annoy Canadians in the Black Sea
Canadian
Defense Minister Rob Nicholson has called an incident between a
Canadian navy frigate and three Russian military jets "unnecessarily
provocative." The warship was performing a NATO exercise in the Black
Sea, just off Ukraine's southern coast.
The Atlantic Wire
Russian Planes Annoy Canadians in the Black Sea
By Polly Mosendz
1 hour ago
Russian Planes Annoy Canadians in the Black Sea
Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson has called an incident between a Canadian navy frigate and three Russian military jets "unnecessarily provocative."
The warship was performing a NATO exercise in the Black Sea, just off
Ukraine's southern coast. The jets "buzzed" the ship, meaning they flew
just above them quickly, which can be seen as an act of intimidation.
While
it is not illegal or a true threat, it was viewed as an act of defiance
from the Russians by the Canadian military during a time of heightened
tensions between Russia and the Western world. (Increased sanctions
against Russia are set to debut today.) Nicholson said Russia's
actions "risk escalating tensions even further."
Russia, of course, claims they did nothing wrong. Their Defense Ministry claims the flights were planned, issuing this statement to RIA Novosti,
"On September 7, 2014, the crew of two aircraft, an Su-24 and an An-26
from the Russian Air Force, successfully completed planned flights over
neutral waters of the Black Sea in the area of the state borders of the
Russian Federation."RELATED: MH17 Brought Down by 'High Energy Objects'
Russian Major General Igor Konashenkov said the Russian planes "did not approach the foreign warship" though buzzing a plane implies quite a close proximity.
This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/09/russian-planes-annoy-canadians-in-black-sea/379859/
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