Barents Sea: US warships cross the area for the first time in over 30 years

For the first time in more than three decades, US warships have crossed again in the Barents Sea. Four ships of the US Navy together with a British ship passed through the Barents Sea north of Russia on Monday, announced the US Navy. During the operation, the “freedom of navigation” was to be demonstrated. Russia had been informed of the operation in advance to avoid confrontation.

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It was reported that it was the first time since the mid-1980s that US warships were moving through this part of the Arctic. It was an exercise that trained navigation in these waters, the U.S. Navy said. The operation involved the three destroyers USS “Donald Cook”, USS “Porter” and USS “Roosevelt” with guided missiles and a support ship of the US Navy and a British frigate.

There are territorial disputes over parts of the Arctic, also due to deposits of raw materials that lie below the ice cap that is melting as a result of climate change. The Arctic is also of military-strategic importance for the neighboring countries. Russia is said to have increased its military presence in the Arctic in the past few years, according to the US.

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Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Russia have recently tested the operational readiness of US air defense in the Arctic and in the US state of Alaska several times. On March 10, two Russian military planes came close to the Alaska coast, but did not enter US airspace.

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