The United States and NATO accused Russia of again ramping up tensions in response to Ukrainian accusations that Moscow plans to close the Kerch Strait and otherwise limit access to the Black Sea and Sea of Azov due to military exercises. The Kerch Strait, which is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separates Krasnodar from Crimea, both of which are now part of Russia. Both Russia and Ukraine are on the Sea of Azov.
As VOA News reports, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday the Kremlin’s decision is “just the latest example of Russian aggression in the Black Sea” and insisted it would have no impact on U.S. Plans to send its own vessels into the Black Sea. “We have routinely operated naval warships in the Black Sea and that will continue,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said. “We call on Russia to cease its harassment of vessels in the region and reverse its build-up of forces along Ukraine’s border and in occupied Ukraine,” he said.
