A RUSSIAN spy ship has moved 40 miles closer to a US naval
base and is “loitering” around the coast, according to defence officials.
The SSV-175 Viktor Leonov is now just 30 miles south of
Groton, Connecticut, having been first spotted 70 miles off the coast of
Delaware yesterday, heading north at 10 knots.
The town of Groton is home to a major naval base and “home
of the submarine force”, being the primary east coast submarine base for the
US.
US waters extend 12 miles from the coast.
The vessel was described by one US official as “loitering”
in the water just south of Montauk on the eastern tip of Long Island.
Lt Col Valerie Henderson, a Defence Department spokeswoman
said: “We are aware of the vessel’s presence. It has not entered US territorial
waters.
“We respect freedom of navigation exercised by all nations
beyond the territorial sea of a coastal state consistent with international
law."
The spy ship is armed with surface-to-air missiles, but its
main function is to intercept communications and collect data on sonar
capability.
In the past, Russian spy ships have loitered off the coast
of Kings Bay, Georgia, which is home to a US Navy ballistic missile submarine
base.
The ongoing incident is the first such test by Russia of US
military responses under President Donald Trump and comes after the White House
national security adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign amid controversy
over his Russia contacts.
The Russian ship went into service in the Black Sea in 1988
before it was transferred seven years later to the northern fleet and was based
in the Barents Sea in the Arctic.
With a crew of about 150 to 200 military personnel, the
310ft Viktor Leonov can reportedly transmit data back to superiors via onboard
antennae linked to satellites orbiting earth.
For self-defence the ship - along with six other similar
Vishnya class spy vessels - is said to be armed with two AK-630 rapid-fire guns
and two missile launchers.
It was named after Viktor
Leonov - a Soviet sailor in the Second World War who was awarded two
Hero of the Soviet Union medals.
Officials at the Pentagon believe the ship will eventually
sail south along the US coast and return to the Caribbean.
US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut,
expressed concern over the ship's presence.
He wrote on Twitter: "Russia is acting like it has a
permission slip to expand influence, test limits of reach. Questions are
obvious: does it, and if so, why?"
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