US aircraft carrier exercises in Adriatic amid Russian-Ukrainian tensions

ABOARD USS HARRY S. TRUMAN, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. admiral leading the carrier’s Harry S. Truman strike group would not speculate on Wednesday about what will happen after exercises at sea end Adriatic in the next few days. Navy rules prohibit talking about future operations.

But as the Pentagon looks for ways to reassure jittery NATO allies after Russia deployed more than 100,000 forces near Ukraine, the Truman is a potent symbol of American military might and military capabilities. NATO in an increasingly nervous region.

“Decisions that are made as to where a United States strike group deploys are really at the Secretary of Defense level,” Rear Admiral Curt Renshaw said.

“But we are ready to operate anywhere and we planned to be on an extended deployment when we left Norfolk, Virginia and we plan to be able to operate where we are most needed.”

The strike group, which has been placed under NATO operational control, is in the Adriatic for coordinated maritime maneuvers, anti-submarine warfare training and planned long-range strike training. until February 4.

When it announced the drills, dubbed Neptune Strike 2022, NATO said it was the first time since the Cold War that a full US carrier strike group had come under NATO command.

The US Department of Defense presented Truman’s role in Neptune Strike 2022 as proof that the NATO alliance was “united, capable and strong”.

Earlier on Wednesday, the United States announced it would send nearly 3,000 troops to Poland and Romania to bolster NATO’s Eastern European allies against what Washington describes as a Russian threat of invade Ukraine.

Russia denies any plans to invade its neighbor but says it could take unspecified military action if its demands are not met, including a NATO pledge never to admit Kiev.

Reporting by Antonio Denti, editing by Rosalba O’Brien

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