Russian warships drive away Dutch sub in Mediterranean

The Russian defense ministry said that a Dutch Walrus-class submarine was driven away Wednesday while 20km away from the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier and its escorts, including the nuclear-powered Peter the Great missile cruiser. The fleet is on a mission to Syrian shores. The spokesman added that such “clumsy” attempts to maneuver close to the Russian ships could have resulted in an accident. A NATO official said the alliance’s navies have been monitoring the Russian fleet in recent weeks in a “measured and responsible way, as is customary”. He refused to elaborate on how NATO was doing that.