St. PETERSBURG - The U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG-75), which had been conducting training exercises with the Ukrainian frigate the Hetman Sahaidachny, departed from the Black Sea, the Russian Navy Staff told Interfax-AVN on Jan. 14.
“The U.S. guided missile destroyer Donald Cook left for the Mediterranean Sea yesterday,” a staff representative said.
According to the representative, the destroyer conducted joint exercises with the Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny in northwestern parts of the Black Sea on January 11.
The Donald Cook visited the Black Sea twice last year, the Navy Staff said. The first appearance was made on April 10. A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 frontline bomber flew around the destroyer several times on April 12. The destroyer visited the Black Sea for a second time on Dec. 26. It is carrying Harpoon missiles and the Aegis combat system.
The Montreux Convention limits the period of stay of ships from non-Black Sea countries in the Black Sea waters to 21 days.
