A pair of Russian warships, including Krivak-class missile frigate Ladny, sail near U.S. Navy destroyer Ross in the Black Sea on July 2, 2021. Ladny and three other Russian ships followed Ross during a three-day at-sea period, at times coming as close as about a mile and a half from the American ship but never close enough to be considered an unsafe encounter. (Megan Eckstein/Staff) 
Two Russian Su-24 aircraft make several passes by U.S. Navy destroyer Ross a few hours after the ship set sail from Odesa, Ukraine, on June 30, 2021. Ross was operating in the Black Sea alongside four other ships from Ukraine and NATO allies as part of the Sea Breeze 21 exercise. The two aircraft made several passes that afternoon but never came within a few miles of the ship, with Ross leadership saying the encounters were safe and professional. Later in the exercise, other aircraft flew close enough to appear on the ship’s radar but did not come within visual distance. (Megan Eckstein/Staff) 
The head of the U.S. Navy destroyer Ross, Cmdr. John D. John, right, and the executive officer, Cmdr. Walter Brinkley, talk on the port bridge wing July 2, 2021, as the ship participates in Sea Breeze 21. That morning, Ross conducted live-fire drills with Ukrainian aircraft as well as ships from Ukraine and NATO allies. (Megan Eckstein/Staff) 
U.S. Navy destroyer Ross and warships from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and the U.K. sail together as part of maneuvering drills during the Sea Breeze 21 exercise in the Black Sea on July 1, 2021. (Megan Eckstein/Staff) 
The Ukrainian ship Hryhoriy Kuropyatnykov sails away from Odesa, Ukraine, in the Black Sea on the first day of the Sea Breeze 21 exercise’s at-sea phase. The ship operated in a task group with warships from the U.S., U.K., Romania and Bulgaria. (Megan Eckstein/Staff) 
Bulgarian Navy Pauk-class corvette Bodri and Ukrainian Sea Guard Pauk-class corvette Hryhoriy Kuropyatnykov sail in formation on June 30, 2021, as part of the Sea Breeze drills in the Black Sea. (Megan Eckstein/Staff)
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