American Nuclear Submarine Chased Away from Russian Waters: Russian MoD

A Russian warship forced an American Virginia-class submarine to leave the territorial waters of the Russian Federation in the Kuriles region, where the Russian Navy is conducting exercises, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on February 12 at 10:40 a.m. in the area of ​​a planned exercise of the Pacific Fleet forces in the territorial waters of the Russian Federation near Urup Island in the Kuril chain. A U.S. Navy Virginia-class nuclear submarine was discovered there, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement quoted by Interfax.

Russian military said it had alerted the crew of the U.S. submarine that it was in Russian territorial waters and demanded that it surface, but the U.S. military ignored the warning, Interfax reported.

“The crew of the foreign submarine received a message in Russian and English: “You are in the territorial waters of Russia. Surface immediately!” The crew of the American submarine ignored the demand of the Russian side,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement quoted by Interfax.

“In accordance with the guidelines for protecting the state border of the Russian Federation in the underwater environment, the crew of the Pacific Fleet frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov used appropriate means,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement without specifying what the “appropriate means” was.

However, retired Admiral Viktor Kravchenko told Interfax on Saturday that the frigate could have used weapons for warning purposes. “It could have been bombs to make it float. We could use weapons, but not at the submarine to destroy it, but nearby. In any case, what happened is a serious event,” the retired admiral said.