Russia steps up submarine patrols to levels not seen in 20 years - from TRUNEWS

(TRUNEWS) Russia has dramatically stepped up its submarine patrols by about 50 percent off the coast of Scandinavia and Scotland, the Mediterranean and North Atlantic.

It is the first time in 20 years there have been so many attack vessels in the area, according to The Daily Mail.

“We are not quite back in a Cold War, but I sure can see one from where we are standing,” said retired admiral and former supreme allied commander of NATO James G. Stavridis.

An U.S. Navy picture shows what appears to be a Russian Sukhoi SU-24 attack aircraft flying over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea. The repeated flights by the Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes, which also flew near the ship a day earlier, were so close they created wake in the water, with 11 passes, the official said. REUTERS/US Navy

Russia is concerned about a NATO buildup in eastern Europe, Poland and the Baltics. NATO defends their actions by claiming they are only responding to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and the crisis in Ukraine.

Wednesday, the US naval destroyer USS Cook moved close to Russia’s border, to the ire of Moscow who threatened their military would respond with “all necessary measures” if it happens again.

Alexander Grushko, the Russian ambassador to NATO said the strain on relations between the U.S. and Russia will continue until the U.S. alliance withdrew from Russia’s border.

“This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia,” Grushko said.

U.S. officials claim the carrier was on a routine mission in international waters near Poland when Russian jets began posturing.

On Thursday, U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the incident on the USS Cook.

He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “deliberately trying to break up NATO”, and suggested U.S. forces should respond to Russian aggression in the future. The four-star general also wants to increase the size of the Army’s permanent deployment in Europe.

Scaparrotti is President Obama’s pick to head the U.S. European Command.

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