Freedom of Navigation: US Warships Sail into Barents Sea Off Russian Arctic Coast

Three U.S. Navy destroyers, the USS Porter, the USS Donald Cook and the USS Roosevelt, along with a frigate from the U.K., the HMS Kent, and a U.S supply vessel, entered the Barents Sea off Russia's northwestern Arctic coast Monday (April 4). This marked the first time U.S. warships have entered the area since the Cold War in the 1980s. The entry into the sea was announced in a statement released by the U.S Navy's Sixth Fleet.

The Barents Sea is an international waterway but tucked into a bay along Russia’s north coast is the administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet in the closed town of Severomorsk. The Northern Fleet is the heart of the Russian navy and Barents Sea is its “backyard." The U.S Sixth Fleet is based in Naples, Italy.

According to the U.S. Navy, the Russians were notified about the five vessels' entry into the area, to which Russia responded with a statement that "Northern Fleet assets are monitoring the activities of the NATO strike group."

The Cold War ended in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR into its component republics. In March, 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, which was part of Ukraine, one of the component republics. This was the beginning of some tensions between Russia and the U.S. The U.S. officially recognized Ukrainian independence on Christmas Day, 1991

There have been some other movements in the skies and waters near Norway. Recently, NATO jets twice intercepted Russian military aircraft off Norway’s coast on April 28 and again the next day. Last week, Russia sent nuclear-capable bombers and submarine hunters on long-distance patrols along Western borders.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. accused Russia of testing an anti-satellite missile after Russia called for talks on limiting the deployment of weapons in outer space.

The rumblings in the seas are likely due to the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (New START) in February of 2021 with a decision to be made this year to extend the treaty. The main point of disagreement is the missile defense systems that are on all three U.S. warships. Russia claims they destabilize international security and have demanded for years that they are included in future arms control cuts.

U.S. officials maintain that Russia has recently boosted its military presence in the Arctic. A Pentagon report from 2019 said, "Russia has gradually strengthened its presence by creating new Arctic units, refurbishing old airfields and infrastructure in the Arctic, and establishing new military bases along its Arctic coastline. There is also a concerted effort to establish a network of air defense and coastal missile systems, early warning radars, rescue centers and a variety of sensors.”

Similar to what the U.S Navy’s Seventh Fleet does in the South China Sea to explain warship maneuvering, the US Sixth Fleet said in another statement that the operation in the Barents Sea was, “to assert freedom of navigation and demonstrate seamless integration among allies.”