Black Sea

Authored by Alex Gorka via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

Just as the "puppet of Putin" narrative had gone quiet - following Trump's Tomahawk-ing a largely abandoned airfield in Syria - it appears the Russia-linkages stories are about to get restarted. WSJ reports that Exxon Mobil has applied to the Treasury Department for a waiver from U.S. sanctions on Russia in a bid to resume its joint venture with state oil giant PAO Rosneft.

Russia’s envoy to NATO has warned that the alliance’s increased military buildup in the Black Sea region could lead to a cold war situation. Alexander Grushko made his comments after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg promised to fortify its military presence in the region, to counter so-called ‘Russian aggression.’ Grushko said that Moscow will take “all necessary measures” to protect its national interests in the Black Sea. MSN reports: “All these decisions will be subject of thorough analysis.

First, a Russian spy ship spotted off the US East Coast. Then Russia being accused of deploying a banned ground-launched ballistic missile.

Now, in the latest escalation in military tensions between the two nations which were supposed to be mending frayed diplomatic relations, Reuters reports that multiple Russian military aircraft came close to U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter (located in close proximity to Russia in the Black Sea) on Feb. 10, incidents considered "unsafe and unprofessional," a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

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