The Russian defense minister has outlined details of an incident which, according to Moscow, saw a US military submarine violate Russia’s sovereignty over the weekend. The Pentagon has denied that any such event took place.
Speaking on Monday, Sergey Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the submarine went 4km deep into the country’s territorial waters. It took Russia’s military three hours to make the intruding boat leave and required the deployment of “special actions” three times, Shoigu told the president. The minister said the movements of the submarine were “absolutely unjustified.”
Shoigu reiterated the details of the boat previously given by the ministry, but used some qualifying language. He said the intruder was “most likely” American, adding that the military perceived the distance of the alleged intrusion as “pretty significant for the island environment.”