Coast Guard finds Russian military vessel near Atka

The U.S. Coast Guard found a Russian ship near the Aleutians on Monday, less than a month after identifying Chinese military vessels in the region.

The Coast Guard said Friday that the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley had identified a Russian Federation Vishnya-class naval vessel. The Soviet-era vessels were built for intelligence gathering and are armed with weapons systems including surface-to-air missile launchers.

The Coast Guard said it spotted the Russian vessel near Atka Island in the central Aleutians. It was traveling in the United States’ exclusive economic zone, a large area that stretches 200 nautical miles off the U.S. coast. The zone is considered international waters, but the United States maintains authority over resources in the region.

The Alex Haley, one of the Coast Guard’s largest cutters and homeported in Kodiak, shadowed the Russian ship as it passed through the area but did not communicate with it.

Haley’s chief officer, Commander Steven Baldovsky, said the crew “met presence with presence to ensure there was no disruption to U.S. interests.”

The Russian and Chinese navies have demonstrated a regular presence in the Aleutians in recent years, and the Pentagon is warning about the two nations’ growing cooperation in the Arctic.