Top US General: No Discussion of Military Response to Ukraine-Russia Incident

No discussion of military dimensions in Sea of Azov

Jason Ditz 

Posted onDecember 6, 2018CategoriesNewsTagsPentagon, Russia, Ukraine

Weeks after a maritime incident that saw three Ukrainian Navy boats seized by the Russian government in the Sea of Azov, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford confirmed that not only has the US military not gotten involved, but there has been no discussion of a military response to the matter.

Dunford said that while his job is to provide the president with military options, there’s been no discussion of actually doing so in the Sea of Azov “in public.” The Pentagon did announce a US military overflight over the area which they said is meant to “send a message,” however.

Ukraine has been making an enormous deal of the matter, predicting an imminent global war with Russia and urging all nations to scramble ships to the Sea of Azov as quickly as possible to get in on it. Russia has downplayed the matter, saying that they are only holding the ships pending an inquiry into their violation of Russian waters.

The US has backed Ukraine on the matter, and Dunford reiterated the US position that Russia had carried out a “clear violation of sovereignty,” but that this doesn’t automatically mean there’s going to be a US military attack on Russia.

https://news.antiwar.com/2018/12/06/top-us-general-no-discussion-of-military-response-to-ukraine-russia-incident/