Putin sends three Russian warships into NATO waters

[J.J.Gibbs]

Vladimir Putin sends three Russian warships into Nato waters after US vessel arrives in Baltic Sea


The ships' detection just four nautical miles from Latvia's territorial waters is thought to be a test to see how Nato will respond


Three heavily armed Russian warships have again tested Nato by sailing close to the tiny Baltic state of Latvia.


Military officials in the Latvian capital Riga said the corvettes - Liven 551, Serpukhov 603 and Morshansk 824 - were detected just four nautical miles from the state’s territorial waters.



It was the latest in a series of moves by Vladimir Putin 's naval forces seen as testing the response of the small Baltic state, a Nato and EU member.



The move on Sunday was linked today to the arrival in the Baltic Sea of US warship, USS Carney, with cruise missiles on board.



The three Russian vessels had been deployed to St Petersburg ahead of the country's annual war commemoration on 9 May, known as Victory Day.

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