It's the first time two US Navy warships have been in the Black Sea since July 2017. "You get ships up in the Black Sea, that makes them feel more threatened," the official added. A similar incident took place in the skies over the Black Sea in November. A Europe-based US defense official criticized Russia's attitude of ownership over the Black Sea, noting that "NATO nations have more coastline by far on the Black Sea than Russia does, so it's certainly not a Russian lake." In addition to Russia, the Black Sea is bordered by NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania as well as NATO partners Ukraine and Georgia.

Source: CNN February 20, 2018 01:30 UTC