© sdelanounas.ru
The research ship Yantar (Amber).
A Russian oceanographic research ship commissioned earlier this year has made it to the Caribbean, keeping the Pentagon on its toes. America's intelligence community appears to believe the vessel is collecting data from underwater cables and spying on the US nuclear submarine fleet.
The Yantar (Amber) oceanographic vessel of the Russian Navy - on a long-distance solo voyage across the northern Atlantic, passing Canada, to the islands of the Caribbean - has alarmed Pentagon, which suspects the high-tech ship is collecting intelligence on US nuclear submarines based at Kings Bay, Georgia.
On September 1, according to a blog about underwater military activities called '7 Feet Beneath the Keel', the Yantar's location was reported some 150km north of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
© Google maps
The Russian ship remains in international waters, with the Pentagon tracking it constantly, according to the Washington Free Beacon (WFB), citing an unnamed official, who maintains the Yantar is equipped with "deep-sea surveillance craft and cable-cutting equipment."
Another senior defense official told Fox News that US oceanographic ships perform exactly the same activities near Russian shores.
"Of course we do. What do you think all those 'oceanographic ships' are doing? Studying whales?" he said.
Comment: The sanctions have done very little damage to Russia, in fact its economy has remained stable and Russia has cemented bonds with Eurasian countries, while the European economy has suffered by following the dictates of the U.S. It seems they are laboring under the delusion of 'if it doesn't work the first time, try try again'.