The American guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook sailed into the port of Odessa in Ukraine on 24 February, according to data from the online media outlet Dumskaya. The US destroyer, which is capable of carrying up to 56 Tomahawk cruise missiles on board, arrived at the port following wargames that involved the Turkish frigate TCG Fatih in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian TV channel TCH has published a purported video of the ship's arrival.
According to Dumskaya, the destroyer will remain in the port until 27 February. The ship is officially conducting freedom of navigation operations in the Black Sea.
READ MORE: Black Sea Fleet's Warships Shadow USS Donald Cook in Black Sea — Russian MoD
This is not the first visit by the USS Donald Cook to the Black Sea. The last time it sailed into the area was at the end of January 2019, spending five days in the port of Batumi, Georgia. As was the case then, its actions are now being monitored by Russian ships. This time, it's the Buyan-class corvette "Orekhovo- Zuyevo" and recon ship "Ivan Hurs" that are tracking the US destroyer's moves in the Black Sea.