Baku-APA. Russian media said Wednesday that a U.S. destroyer was heading to the Black Sea, in an apparent move to respond to potential military incidents concerning Ukraine, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
"The Donald Cook is heading to the Black Sea as it was agreed with Kiev," Russian government's Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper reported, adding that the destroyer was equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Aegis anti-craft system and would participate in the NATO navy exercises in that area.
Russian Defense Ministry's official website has so far been silent about the warship's arrival, but the Itar-Tass news agency quoted an unnamed ministry source as saying that "the United States has for the first time ever mentioned a connection between the ship's mission to the Black Sea and developments in Ukraine."
Local media said the warship, whose port of permanent deployment is in Spain, would enter the Black Sea "no later than Thursday."
Last week, after Washington said it would dispatch a destroyer to the Black Sea, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demanded the NATO to explain how the bloc's military beefing-up corresponded with existing bilateral agreements.