A group of NATO strike ships, consisting of American and British ships, left the waters of the Barents Sea, the press service of the Sixth Fleet of the United States said.
The group included the destroyers Porter, Donald Cook, Roosevelt destroyers of the United States Navy and the frigate Kent of the British Navy, and American reconnaissance aircraft P-8A and RC-135 also took part in patrolling. A total of 1,200 NATO sailors participated in the maneuvers.
“The Arctic is an important region. Our naval forces are present throughout the Arctic region, including the Barents Sea, where they ensure trade security and demonstrate freedom of navigation in these difficult conditions, ”said Admiral James Foggo, commander of the US Navy in Europe and Africa.
Mission Complete: @USNavy destroyers & @ RoyalNavy # British frigate departed the #Barents Sea May 8, following seven days of #Arctic operations.
The Surface Action Group will continue operations above the #Arctic circle! # OpenForBusiness # PowerForPeacehttps: //t.co/rsCCcguSVZ
According to him, the operations carried out jointly with Great Britain "testify to the strength and flexibility of the NATO alliance, as well as its commitment to freedom of navigation in the Arctic and European waters."
According to Foggo, NATO countries "have joined forces to combat the coronavirus pandemic and at the same time continue to pursue an effective containment and defense policy throughout the European region."
NATO ships entered the Barents Sea on May 4. The Russian Northern Fleet then stated that it had begun tracking US and British ships.
“The forces and means of the Northern Fleet have begun tracking the actions of the NATO naval strike group,” the National Defense Control Center said at that time, indicating that the group includes destroyers Porter, Donald Cook, Franklin Roosevelt of the US Navy and frigate Kent of the British Navy .
At the same time, the press service of the Sixth Fleet claimed that they had notified Russia of the arrival of their destroyers in the Barents Sea.
It should be noted that shortly before this, members of the NATO ship group - Porter, Donald Cook and Lute - completed joint military exercises in the Norwegian Sea, during which they worked out the counteraction against submarines.
In addition, the Porter destroyer in 2019 was located in the Black Sea, where Russian sailors controlled the ship. The Black Sea Fleet reported that the operations of the NATO ship are controlled by the frigate Admiral Essen, as well as the small missile ships Vyshny Volochek and Orekhovo-Zuevo. The American side, in turn, said that the movement of the destroyer is aimed at demonstrating "Washington’s commitment to free shipping."
Commenting on the movement of NATO ships in the Barents Sea, the captain of the first rank of the reserve, military expert Vasily Dandykin suggested that the Western military thus indicated their area of interest and tried to demonstrate that not only Russia is related to the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic.
However, he drew attention to the fact that such an operation involves a major waste of material resources and funds.
“I think this is a completely useless and meaningless military action. If they wanted to show something in this regard, then this had to be done earlier. It’s too late to do this now: over the past decades, Russia has strengthened both economically and military potential in this zone, and, of course, in our zone of the Russian Arctic our tactical association now dominates - this is the Red Banner Northern Fleet, which controls the situation, and with this we must reckon with the United States, the NATO bloc, and everyone else, ”said Dandykin in an interview with RT.
In turn, the director of the Center for Military-Political Studies of MGIMO, Alexey Podberyozkin, noted that due to its geopolitical position and wealth of natural resources, the Arctic becomes an object of interest for states that are not the so-called Arctic.
“The concept of free shipping is a traditional concept of the Anglo-Saxons, it suggests that they can swim wherever they wish, including hinting or emphasizing their ability to control the situation in the Arctic,” the expert said in an interview with RT.
Podberyozkin noted that the new US marine doctrine implies participation in the development of the Arctic region.
“The claims to the Arctic region and the development of natural resources and freedom of navigation along the Northern Sea Route are now de facto supported by such demonstrations, which are obviously provocative,” the expert believes.