The American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman has been stationed in the northern Aegean Sea off the Greek Island of Thassos in part so it can conduct flight operations from there if tensions escalate in the region due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine says sources.
Turkey administers passage permission to transit into the Black Sea for warships, and there is concern about Russia’s future plans there.
US fighter aircraft often conduct air patrols for deterrence, and it would not necessarily signal the US is entering the conflict.
Truman’s fighter jets are currently flying over Romania as part of the NATO mission to demonstrate their presence and resolve against Russian aggression reports CNN.
The carrier is accompanied by the cruiser USS San Jacinto in the North Aegean. Five other US warships and a Norwegian surface combatant are further south in the Aegean.
This development comes as the Pentagon is also acknowledging it may have to reconsider and increase the long-term US military presence in Europe in the wake of Russia’s aggression.
