WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Navy must dedicate forces to pushing back against Russian activity throughout the European theater in the coming weeks, two lawmakers said, even as the world\u2019s focus is on Ukraine\u2019s land borders with Russia and Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Joe Courtney agreed that a strong show of force from the Navy \u2014 particularly in the undersea domain, where Russia has focused its modernization efforts \u2014 could help deter Russia from its overall effort to assert itself in the region or to stop a small conflict from growing into something larger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two Connecticut Democrats spoke Jan. 24 at a virtual event hosted by submarine builder General Dynamics Electric Boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin \u201cwill test us in every single place that he can. He\u2019s doing it right now in Ukraine: he wants to restore the hegemony over countries that formerly were part of the Soviet Union; bring back Ukraine into Mother Russia; conduct a hybrid war of military actions, cyber-attack and misinformation. And part of his overall strategy is to bolster undersea warfare and thereby push the United States, try to divide allies, and create instability,\u201d Blumenthal said in response to a question regarding how naval forces could help get Putin to back down in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUndersea warfare \u2014 because we\u2019re talking about the Mediterranean, about the Black Sea as potential areas of tension and conflict \u2014 is very much in play even though it isn\u2019t directly involved in the confrontation in the Eastern Ukraine area or Crimea or in the northern borders of Ukraine, which represent perhaps the greatest immediate threat in Belarus, where Putin is amassing forces right now,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The senator said he agreed with President Joe Biden\u2019s statement that U.S. troops should not be sent into Ukraine to fight, but he said strengthening and bolstering NATO capabilities in the region would be important, as well as finding other ways to show strength \u201caround the world in other areas where we go head-to-head with the Russians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the U.S. should also focus on economic sanctions against Russia, including export controls on semiconductors and other technologies Russia needs to keep its economy going; disconnecting Russia from the international financial system; supplying more arms to Ukraine so the country can defend itself; and getting NATO allies, especially Germany, united in their efforts to respond to Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the world\u2019s focus has been on Ukraine\u2019s border with Russia to the east and Belarus to the north, Russia announced last week that it would hold a series of large naval drills<\/a> in all its geographically dispersed fleets, upping the ante in its standoff against the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe drills are intended to practice navy and air force action to protect Russian national interests in the world\u2019s oceans and to counter military threats to the Russian Federation,\u201d the defense ministry said, adding that they will start this month and run through February in the Mediterranean, North Atlantic and Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just the day before that announcement, the U.S. Navy announced its guided-missile submarine Georgia was in Cyprus for a port call \u2014 an unusual move, announcing the location of this large submarine loaded to the gills with conventional missiles, that in recent history has only been done to send a message to Russia or North Korea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Courtney, in following up to the same question at the event, said the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group exercising with NATO forces in the Mediterranean<\/a> represented \u201cthe most visible sign of presence that the Navy is exercising out there.\u201d But, he said, the submarine fleet would have an important, if less visible, role in checking Russian aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saying that Russia\u2019s string of exercises would \u201cflood the zone\u201d with submarines in the North Atlantic, where Russia\u2019s submarine-heavy Northern Fleet operates, Courtney said: \u201cThere\u2019s no question that our undersea fleet is going to be very busy at this very tense moment and is definitely going to play a big role in terms of making sure that whatever possible conflict may emerge, that it does not escalate into something more serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n