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Russian war planes buzz U.S. destroyer in Baltic

Jim Michaels, and Tom Vanden Brook
USA TODAY
A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft makes a very low altitude pass by the USS Donald Cook  on April 12, 2016 in the Baltic Sea.

Russian attack planes buzzed the guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook during the U.S.'s joint exercises in the Baltic Sea this week in what defense officials on Wednesday described as "aggressive" and "unsafe flight maneuvers."

Two Russian SU-24 jets made "numerous, close-range and low-altitude passes" on the U.S. ship Tuesday as a helicopter refueled on the deck, according to a statement from U.S. European Command.

The Cook, which was holding a joint exercise with NATO ally Poland and operating in international waters, "encountered multiple, aggressive flight maneuvers by Russian aircraft that were performed within close proximity of the ship," the statement said.

It said the aircraft "flew in a simulated attack profile and failed to respond to repeated safety advisories in both English and Russian."

At one point, the ship's commanding officer viewed a particularly close pass as "unsafe and unprofessional" and suspended flight operations until the aircraft left the area.

One pass was about about 30 feet from the ship at an altitude of 100 feet, according to a defense official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about it. Two more passes farther from the ship came at 50 feet above water.

The statement said the incidents "have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries." It added U.S. officials were addressing the issue through diplomatic channels.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the low-altitude passes were “entirely inconsistent with the professional norms of militaries operating in proximity to each other in international waters and international airspace.”

The Cook, one of four advanced warships of the Forward Deployed Naval Force, arrived in the Polish port of Gydnia on Friday. It had been shadowing a Russian intelligence-gathering ship for some time before the encounters and radioed the Russian ship that it was conducting routine operations, CNN reports.

A Russian Kamov KA-27 Helix closely surveils the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook while the ship was operating in international waters on April 12, 2016.

The incidents come one week before ambassadors from NATO countries and Russia are scheduled to hold their first formal meeting in Brussels in almost two years to discuss Ukraine, Afghanistan and military activities.

Moscow's muscle-flexing also comes four months after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the country's National Security Strategy that blasts the expansion of NATO and its approach to Russia's borders as a "threat to national security," according to the official Tass news agency.

"Russia’s strengthening is taking part on the background of new threats to national security that have a complicated and interlinked character," the document says. "The independent domestic and foreign policy conducted by Russia triggers counteraction from the U.S. and their allies seeking to keep up their domination in global affairs."

Contributing: Doug Stanglin in McLean, Va.

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