"Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) began its scheduled southbound transit from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea after conducting maritime operations and exercises alongside @NATO allies and partners, Nov. 16, 2021," the fleet tweeted.
The US Sixth Fleet announced in November that its flagship Mount Whitney was heading to the Black Sea to conduct operations with NATO allies and partners. Earlier, Mount Whitney along with US destroyer Porter entered the Georgian port of Batumi.
On 11 November, the Russian defence ministry pointed to an increase in US and NATO military activities in the Black Sea region — over the past 24 hours, four NATO reconnaissance planes were detected and escorted by the Russian anti-aircraft missile forces. Moscow qualified unscheduled drills close to the Russian border as aggression that threatens regional stability.